[icann-eu] CYBER-FEDERALIST NO.9: The New Politics of ICANN: Board Diplomacy

[Hans Klein <hklein@cpsr.org>]

                        Please forward
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  CYBER-FEDERALIST          No. 9         January 30, 2001 

         THE NEW POLITICS OF ICANN: BOARD DIPLOMACY

             Civil Society Democracy Project (CivSoc)
   Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR)
                  http://www.civsoc.org

               The Internet Democracy Project 
         http://www.internetdemocracyproject.org/
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THE NEW POLITICS OF ICANN: BOARD DIPLOMACY

ICANN's recent elections gave Internet users meaningful, if incomplete,
representation on the Board. With five directors out of a total of nineteen
elected by users, the question now is whether they can be effective.

To be effective the new directors will have to master a different kind of
political process than before. The outspoken righteousness of outsiders
must now be complemented by the diplomatic skills of insiders.  Directors
must master the subtle arts of board procedure, persuasion, and
coalition-building.  These skills must be applied in working with other
directors, with external constituents, and with the ICANN staff.

In what follows, I consider some of the skills needed for effective Board
diplomacy.  I also offer an example of how these skills might be applied
for an immediate decision: the allocation of space for At Large Members at
ICANN's upcoming Melbourne meeting.

Working Within the Board
========================
For ICANN board decisions, the all-important number is ten. On a
nineteen-member board, it takes ten directors to form a majority. Ten votes
can modify the bylaws.  Ten votes can decide directives to the staff.  For
any director, the ten-vote majority is the most important fact about the
Board.

Moreover, for some board decisions less than a majority may be needed. For
example, actions that exclusively affect the At Large Membership are the
proper business of the At Large Directors alone.  If they issue a request
to the staff on a matter concerning the membership, other directors and the
staff should respect their authority in this area.

In any case, for a director to be effective, he or she must have allies.
Before any Board vote, a director can look at the list of directors and
figure out the ayes, the nays, and the maybes.  Then a coalition needs to
be built that unites enough directors to carry a decision.

Effective directors will be those who have trusting relationships with
their colleagues. Daily telephone calls, personal visits, and Email
interaction can provide a basis of interpersonal trust needed for the
conduct of board business.  For the newly-elected directors, building these
relationships must be a top priority.

Working With Constituents
=========================
The At Large Directors must also work to maintain contact with the tens of
thousands of users that elected them.

Much of the infrastructure for this exists. Most important is a forum where
directors and members can interact. At least two regions have such forums:
the ICANN Europe list (ICANN-EU) and the Boston Working Group List (BWG) in
North America  (see Cyber-Federalist No.6.)  The Africa, Latin America, and
Asia-Pacific regions may still need to develop regional forums.

Another important element of constituency infrastructure is the Interim
Coordinating Committee (ICC).  The ICC was the product of the bottom-up
membership process in Los Angeles (see Cyber-Federalist No.7).  Much as
other ICANN directors are backed by Supporting Organizations, the At Large
Directors can receive input from the ICC, which facilitates user
participation.  The ICC also provides a global coordination mechanism that
spans regions.

Directors need to encourage dialogue in their regional forums and in the
ICC.  Directors may even solicit member initiatives, such as petitions.

Working with the ICANN Staff
============================
In any organization there can be a tension between the Board and the staff.
 Directors may not have the time to perform oversight; staff may take
initiatives without adequately informing directors.

There is no doubt, however, that ultimate authority in ICANN resides with
the Board. The staff must take its strategic direction from the nineteen
directors.

Effective Board direction again requires careful use of procedure.  Written
communications from directors to the staff are difficult to ignore. Clearly
specified decisions and deadlines also facilitate oversight.

An Example: Meeting Space in Melbourne ======================================
ICANN's next meeting in Melbourne provides an excellent opportunity to
exercise these diplomatic skills.

The new directors could use their authority to ensure the allocation of
official meeting space for members. This would be consistent with ICANN's
practice of providing space for Supporting Organizations and their
constituencies.

This decision also provides an opportunity to set a precedent about Board
authority. Through such an exercise of authority, board guidance of the
staff would be made real.

Working within the board, the At Large Directors need to agree among
themselves. Telephone calls and Email exchanges need to start now.

Furthermore, not all directors need to support such a decision.  Since it
exclusively affects the At Large Membership, a consensus among those
directors should provide sufficient basis for a directive to the staff.
 
Working with their constituencies, especially the ICC, the At Large
Directors can develop external support for the proposal.  A letter signed
by Internet user organizations might provide a useful demonstration of
consensus on the need for meeting space.

Working with the staff, the directors can formulate a directive on this
matter.  This would promote board-staff interaction and set an important
procedural precedent.

The result of all this could be a simple decision: ICANN would treat the At
Large Membership as it treats constituencies, allocating meeting space in
Melbourne.  But the process of reaching such a decision would both help
develop the arts of board diplomacy and would set precedents for the future.

The At Large elections brought user representatives in to ICANN, installing
directors committed to open procedures and minimalist DNS regulation.  But
the election was just the beginning.  The challenge now is to develop the
diplomatic skills needed for effective leadership of ICANN.

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CYBER-FEDERALIST is a regularly published series of analyses and
commentaries on Internet governance and ICANN.  It is produced as part of
the Internet Democracy Project. See: 
    http://www.civsoc.org
    http://www.internetdemocracyproject.org/
    http://www.cyber-federalist.org  (archive)

The Cyber-Federalist is written by Hans Klein:
	http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~hk28/

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