Francesco Amoretti

Toward the European administrative space: the role of e-government policy

The ‘challenge of convergence’ has become a core element of the European policy-making agenda. Many programs have been initiated by European institutions with a view to ensure uniformity in administrative actions and structures. In this article, we will investigate the formation of a ‘European administrative space’ as a result of a process of convergence toward a common European model, looking, in particular, at the role of communication and information technologies. As numerous policy documents produced by the European Commission indicate, new technologies have the potential to create administrative systems that are integrated across the European context in terms of their semantic, organizational, and technical content. We will pay close attention to the role of technological standardization in promoting economic development and competitiveness, as well as considering security policy as an example of ‘homogenization through technology’.

Electronic Regimes: Democracy and Geopolitical Strategies in Digital Networks

From the second half of the 1980s onward, Western governments have been pursuing vigorously the implementation of digitalization policies. As a result, political institutions and administrative procedures have been progressively computerized. Even non-Western countries like China, India, and Russia have started reform processes aiming at the creation of “virtual states.” Concurrently, developments in the Internet and related technologies have affected international relations, either heightening conflict or strengthening cooperation. e-Democracy and e-government projects and policies have generated numerous case studies, leading to a solid research tradition investigating the extent to which politics has been transformed. However, theoretical development to understand the geopolitical strategies designed by states in order to control and regulate digital networks has lagged behind. This article analyzes the main trajectories followed by states in their digitalization processes, highlighting their constitutional and geopolitical relevance. It explores the relationships between the state and information and communication technologies and proposes a set of typologies of digital regimes.

The power of words: the changing role of the Italian head of state during the Second Republic

Many authors use the metaphor of an accordion to describe the enlargement of the constitutional functions of the Italian head of state: because of the weakness of the political parties the president is able to ‘open and play the accordion’ according to his own interpretation of his institutional powers. While useful, this metaphor does not take into account the structural changes that have occurred over the last 30 years, as well as the informal powers that recent presidents have resorted to, which were the most important factors in the metamorphosis of the presidential figure. Structural changes include the end of the Cold War, the collapse of the First Republic and the mediatisation and personalisation of politics and party structure. Informal powers include those of ‘esternazione’ (a term that roughly means ‘to render public personal statements without previous consultation with the cabinet’) and of moral suasion. By analysing the development of these two powers, this article aims to describe the chang...

GOVERNING BY INTERNET ARChITECTuRE

In the past thirty years, the exponential rise in the number of Internet users around the word and the intensive use of the digital networks have brought to light crucial political issues. Internet is now the object of regulations. Namely, it is a policy domain. Yet, its own architecture represents a new regulative structure, one deeply affecting politics and everyday life. This article considers some of the main transformations of the Internet induced by privatization and militarization processes, as well as their consequences on societies and human beings.

Between Reason of State and Reason of Market:The developments of internet governance in historical perspective

“Ninguna soberania, ningun gobierno electivo, ninguna autoridad, ningun confin”. Hace veinte anos, John Perry Barlow proclamo su Declaracion de Independencia del Ciberespacio. Y estas eran las palabras clave. Hoy dia, podemos afirmar que el desarrollo del Internet Governance como ambito de policy global responde a las preguntas que Barlow consideraba irrelevantes precisamente por lo que al desarrollo del ciberespacio se referia. Una vez que los mitos fundadores de un Internet sin confines, inmaterial y falto de estructuras de gobierno han sido derrotados, ?cuales son las relaciones de poder que han emergido en el campo del dominio del Internet? ?Cuales son las ideas –o los valores normativos– que sostienen y legitiman el papel politico de los actores gubernamentales y no gubernamentales? Ademas, ?el modelo multi-stakeholder sabe distinguir los conflictos de poder reales, o el mismo parte de esos conflictos, como un discurso de apoyo de los intereses y de las coaliciones en juego? El objetivo principal del articulo es analizar esos cuestionamientos a traves del analisis del desarrollo de los conflictos politicos respecto de la gobernanza de la red: del IAHC al WSIS, hasta llegar a los procesos mas recientes, como el WCIT y el NetMundial.