Columbia International Affairs Online: Working Papers

CIAO DATE: 11/2013

Adaptive Internet Governance: Persuading the Swing States

Dave Clemente

October 2013

Centre for International Governance Innovation

Abstract

The current approach to Internet governance is politically untenable because it lacks legitimacy in the eyes of many new Internet users. Legitimacy is a central issue for Internet governance. In this paper, the fourth in the Internet Governance Papers series, James A. Lewis argues that a new model for Internet governance must be able to manage a global infrastructure. A clear division of labour among the multi-stakeholder community that explicitly recognizes where governments must play a leading role would be a useful and achievable first step.