ICANN und der Konflikt um die Internet-Ressourcen : Institutionenbildung im Problemfeld Internet Governance zwischen multinationaler Staatstätigkeit und globaler Selbstregulierung

Abstract

This doctoral thesis examines the institutionalization of the Internet during the transition from a research network to a commercial infrastructure. The focus is on the management of the IP number space and the Domain Name System. The case study is based on the research questions, what kind of problems the commercialization and internationalization of the Internet caused, how these problems affected the development of the Internet s governance structure and why the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) prevailed over alternative institutional arrangements. The policy study has three levels. First, the resource management problems of the Internet are analyzed theoretically by examining the political economy of the Domain Name System and distinguishing between appropiation and provision problems. The middle part traces the process of institution building from the ARPANET to ICANN and describes actors, interests and interaction in the specific institutional context. It becomes evident that the institutions of the Internet evolved in a muddling-through process and through learning in cooperative networks. The third part of the study focuses on the characteristics of the Internet s new governance structure. It represents a hybrid global policy network including corporations, research organizations, governments and civil society groups. ICANN as the core organization is a private non-profit company for the self-regulation of the Internet, while at the same time it is a contractor of the US Government and resembles both a public regulatory agency and an intergovernmental organization. Thus, the institutional evolution of the Internet policy domain makes an interesting case with regard to the general debate over transnational self-regulation and global governance.