[WSIS CS-Plenary] publication on WSIS and Civil Society

[Jean-Louis FULLSACK]

Dear all

Thanks to Ralf for this very interesting document dealing with CS "inclusion" in the WSIS process. Unfortunately it doesn't include what is generally considered as the major issue of this process, namely the so-called "digital divide". 
However, I fully agree on her analysis of the impact of CS contributions to WSIS outcomes. At least following her abstract I'd  just time to read.
Friendly greetings.   
Jean-Louis Fullsack
CSDPTT-France





> Message du 10/09/06 06:15
> De : "Ralf Bendrath" 
> A : "wsis-cs-plenary" , "incommunicado" 
> Copie à : 
> Objet : [WSIS CS-Plenary] publication on WSIS and Civil Society
> 
> [Please note that by using 'REPLY', your response goes to the entire list. Kindly use individual addresses for responses intended for specific people]
> 
> Click http://wsis.funredes.org/plenary/ to access automatic translation of this message!
> _______________________________________
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> my colleague Charlotte Dany has analyzed the WSIS negotiations and the 
> impact CS had in different phases of the policy cycle. Her final research 
> report is just out. Enjoy reading.
> 
> Best, Ralf
> 
> -------------------
> 
> Dany, Charlotte (2006): /The Impact of Participation: How Civil Society 
> Organisations contribute to the Democratic Quality of the UN World Summit 
> on the Information Society/, TranState Working Paper 43, Bremen: 
> Collaborative Research Center "Transformations of the State"
> 
> download at: 
> http://www.state.uni-bremen.de/pages/pubApBeschreibung.php?SPRACHE=en&ID=50
> 
> Abstract
> 
> The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) was held by the United 
> Nations in 2003 to draft a programmatic declaration for the information 
> age. The involvement of civil society organisations (CSOs) in the drafting 
> process was innovative and led to WSIS becoming an especially instructive 
> case in order to assess the potential of civil society participation in 
> global governance. The author analyses the preconditions that were 
> provided for CSOs to participate within this policy process and how it 
> influenced the policy output. The all-encompassing rhetoric of the 
> multi-stakeholder approach at WSIS and its good performance with regard to 
> conceding access, transparency and inclusion to non-state actors suggest 
> that the summit would be responsive to arguments from civil society and 
> therefore a likely case for a deliberative policy process. However, the 
> impact of CSOs on the policy documents has only been marginal. Despite 
> favourable conditions for CSO participation, WSIS was not as responsive 
> towards civil society arguments as could have been expected. A content 
> analysis of policy documents and civil society statements with regard to 
> three selected issue areas – Internet governance, intellectual property 
> rights and communication rights – reveals that CSOs were, in many cases, 
> not able to influence the outcome. Their argumentative input only led to 
> minor changes in the policy documents. The case of the World Summit on the 
> Information Society indicates that favourable conditions for CSO 
> participation alone do not necessarily provide a solution for the 
> democratic deficit in global governance.
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