New Governance, the Internet and Country Code Top Level Domains in Europe

Much academic work on governance in recent years has explored responses which states have made to sectors of the economy, usually historically well-rooted nationally, which have been subject to globalizing pressures. Less work exists on responses which are being made to new parts of the economy emerging outside the nation state with inherently global characteristics. The Internet – and specifically its naming and addressing system-provides an example of how the state has aimed to assert public interest governance authority in a system initially absent its influence. This article explores the nature and consequences of this activity, in the process contributing to the study of the Internet and governance. Working within the limitations but also the opportunities created by policy norms developed at the global level, the article finds that the state has been instrumental in the development of novel public-private governance systems for Internet country code Top Level Domains. Introduction Electronic network communications-traditionally composed of telecommunication and mass communication media-is the epitome of a fast-moving, dynamic sector of the 21