Re: [icann-eu] CALL FOR PAPERS: Global Democracy and the ICANN Elections

["Roberto Gaetano" <roberto_gaetano@hotmail.com>]

Alexander,

I think that we should first agree on a terminology.

> >
> > Can you point me to any source of the "considerable disagreement about 
>how
> > to render [the European Union] and [its] decisions more legitimate"?
>
>There is certainly nothing anti-European in finding
>that there is an extensive debate about EU legitimacy
>deficits -- there are literally volumes of research.

Member States have adhered to the European Commission before, and to the 
European Union afterwards, via a decision of their respective Governments, 
backed up whenever necessary by a vote of their respective Parliaments, and 
in some cases by an additional referendum.
To question the "legitimity" of the European Union is equivalent to question 
the "legitimity" of the sovereign Governments and, whenever applicable, the 
Parliaments and the popular vote.

What is widely discussed in Europe is not the "legitimacy", but a better 
definition of the powers of the different European institutions (for 
instance Parliament vs. Council), a better way to increase direct 
participation, the balance of power between the regional institutions and 
the local institutions (States), and thousand of many more subjects.
But not the legitimacy.

>Even the Commission admits on its web site that there
>is an "imbalance between the existing state-based
>legitimacy and the democratic legitimacy which the public
>expects".

That's exactly the point.
To move from a situation where the legitimacy comes from the member states, 
as entities, to a situation where the legitimacy comes directly from the 
people (democratic legitimacy).
But this is a political evolutionary process, most welcome (at least for me 
- maybe less for some of the politicians in power right now), but which aims 
at shifting the basis for legitimacy from one situation (the "Maastricht 
treaty") to a new situation.
This is in no way a move from a situation of "no legitimacy" to a situation 
of "legitimacy".

In other words, the European Union is perfectly legitimate. It will be good 
if it would become more democratic, i.e. if the common institutions were 
accountable directly to the people of Europe, and not to the people of 
Europe via their respective member states and/or governments.

A last note on "anti-Europe".
I did not think that the statement of Hans Klein was particularly 
"anti-European", and for sure if it even was, it was not intentional.
It only comes from one vision of the world in which the essential parameter 
is direct democracy. But this is far from being the only source of 
"legitimacy".
Let me make an example to explain my thoughts, before flaming ;>).

Suppose that we have today elections worldwide for the Board of ICANN, and 
that all citizen of the world could participate via Internet.
This would not be at all the solution to all problems.
For instance, if ICANN will continue to be a US Corporation, based in 
California, subject to US law and to the US Congress, coordinating 
activities around a root that is under US jurisdiction, with US Chairpersons 
and US CEOs, with staff working under conditions ruled by US contracts, 
....... well, you see my point.
But I am sure that some people will be happy, and will state that we have 
achieved democracy and legitimacy, and we have saved the Internet from the 
greedy hands of those International Treaty organizations ;>)

Regards
Roberto


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