Technology and World Politics by Daniel R. McCarthy

Author:Daniel R. McCarthy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

The debate over Internet policy is, in many ways, a conflict between different visions of sovereignty as much as different visions of freedom of expression. Governments may, however, distinguish their views of sovereignty depending on the issue involved. A state may be more protective of its boundaries when addressing a domestic audience than when it is seeking influence abroad; and it may have a different view of sovereignty on immigration issues than on Internet policy. The debate also raises other questions: Is global democracy characterized by the participation of states as national representatives, or should a ‘new global sphere’ be the prerogative of individuals and a transnational civil society as well? The place of China as a postcolonial state and the role of sovereignty as protection from remembered imperial depredations in the decolonizing world are significantly related elements in this conflict of visions.

There will be serious and continuous jousting as the United States and China and their allies find opportunities for continued engagement. Laura DeNardis treats this question in her work The Global War for Internet Governance (2014). In 2012, the site for contestation was the World Conference on International Communication (WCIT) in Dubai, held to review existing international telecommunications regulations. The United States saw the debates leading up to the WCIT as a threatening shift in Internet governance away from institutions such as the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) – the entity that governs Internet names and numbers11 – that are technical, engineer dominated and were designed under nominal U.S. management.

The apprehension was that governance would tilt away from a multi-stakeholder approach towards increasing intervention from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) or other state-centric international organizations. The final document published by the ITU included an aspiration that ‘all governments should have an equal role and responsibility for international internet governance’ (WCIT 2012), but this seemingly anodyne language was portrayed as masking a potential attack on existing arrangements favourable to the United States. In that context, even proposals for change that could have been interpreted as constructive were warily received. A provision, for example, on regulating spam was seen as a Trojan Horse for a broader system of content controls for the Internet. Seemingly simple and uncontroversial ‘technical’ solutions thereby took on a deeply political character.

This exercise in competitive large technical system> (LTS) design has outcroppings in contexts other than the Internet, as both the United States and China are interested in encouraging adoption of their view in different forums for wider geopolitical and trade purposes. One such strategy of the Chinese government, and its associated companies, has been to enhance their direct involvement in the telecommunication and media markets in Africa, Ethiopia being a prime example. The Chinese government has also provided significant support to state broadcasters in selected countries, such as Kenya and Zambia. Finally, China has worked to expand the reach and content of its international broadcasters, including China Central Television (CCTV) and China Radio International (CRI).

The emphasis on technology and system design is supplemented by other efforts to bolster the Chinese presence.

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