Abstract
Although supranational communication policymaking began in the 19th century to deal with telecommunication issues, it accelerated after the creation of the United Nations. Many supranational communication policymaking bodies such as UNESCO and WIPO were created as parts of the United Nations system, and the ITU was adopted as a UN organization to deal with transnational communications issues. The US, a key nation-state and a victor of the Second World War, played the leading role in creating the UN communication policymaking bodies. These organizations stood as the main forums for debates and discussions among the nation-states in a bipolar world. One event, the NWICO movement—a clash between the West and the global south about the media content flows across the world—is one of the decisive moments in the history of supranational communication policymaking. During the debates over NWICO, the West under the leadership of the US promoted the idea of free flow of information while the global south, known as the third world at the time, demanded balanced and fair media content flows between states. The death of NWICO and the fall of the Soviet Union heralded the supremacy of the US in communication policymaking. The US, along with businesses, gradually transformed the UN organizations to give priority to market forces and undermine the nation-states. It created a new mode of global communication policymaking—the ICANN model of Internet policymaking—in which market forces make decisions with the consent of the US state.
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© 2014 Abu Bhuiyan
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Bhuiyan, A. (2014). From UNESCO to ICANN: Rise of a New Model of Global Communication Policymaking. In: Internet Governance and the Global South. Palgrave Global Media Policy and Business. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137344342_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137344342_2
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