Global Internet Governance & Development: International Organizations Roles

International audienceThe past decade of information technology governance issues and opportunities related to development has been tumultuous and transformation-filled. Much work has been done on nation-states, new institutions such as ICANN or the now ten year old and newly renewed Internet Governance Forum (IGF), civil society or even the private sector. (See, for example, Denardis (2014), Franklin (2013), Mueller (2010), Powers & Jablonski (2015).) Less work focuses on the roles of international organizations such as UNESCO or long-standing regional international organizations such as the Council of Europe (CoE) and their interactions with other key actors in complex, cross-national technology governance ecosystems as they relate to development. This paper focuses on major questions related to technology and sustainable development, reporting findings from a four-year project examining international organization roles in the context of nation-states, regions, civil society, technical communities, and the private sector. Particular attention is given to internet governance against the backdrop of the United Nations’ newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals and its very recent review of the World Summit On The Information Society (WSIS) action goals. The project uses interviews and document analyses rooted in political science, communication and organizational sociological conceptual frames. In sum, the paper provides an in-depth and new view of international organizations’ transformative roles and actions in addressing major challenges related to internet governance and developing nations