Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Of the multiple and complex institutional processes shaping the emergence of a new international regime to provide global governance for information and communication infrastructure (Krasner, 1986, 1991; Cowhey, 1992; Cogburn, 2003; Braman, 2004), international conferences focused on information and communication technology policy play a critical role. By bringing together policy-actors from multiple sectors and involving them in formal and informal negotiations, these international conferences provide a location for contestation and convergence around the policy preferences that will shape the principles, values, norms, and rules of the emerging regime (Cogburn, 2004). These policy-actors are often members of geographically distributed policy networks, which are in turn frequently associated with specific epistemic - or knowledge producing - communities. This paper explores the impact of policy-actor networks and epistemic communities on satisfaction and policy preferences in one such international policy conference, the United Nations-sponsored World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). WSIS is organized as a genuine multi-stakeholder policy formulation process, involving governments as well as the private sector and civil society in its two phases (Geneva 2003; and Tunis 2005). Four primary research questions are explored in this study: (1) to what extent are policy-actor networks engaged in WSIS?; (2) what is the character and structure of these policy-actor networks?; (3) to what extent are these policy-actor networks linked to specific epistemic communities; and (4) what impact do these policy-actor networks and epistemic communities have on satisfaction and policy preferences within WSIS? Qualitative and quantitative data for this study are drawn from a larger study being conducted by the author called From Pawns to Partners: Policy Collaboratories and the Global Governance of Cyberinfrastructure. The qualitative data consists of participant observation notes, interviews, and content analysis. The quantitative data consists primarily of an international survey of ICT policy leaders (N=322) from the public, private, civil society, and international organization sectors participating in WSIS. Key findings include the following: There are a significant number of policy-actor networks working within the WSIS. Participants from both developing countries and civil society are involved in policy-actor networks and epistemic communities. The majority of these policy-actor networks are linked to specific epistemic communities. Finally, membership in these policy-actor networks and linkage with epistemic communities are both significant factors in determining satisfaction and the policy preference within the WSIS process.