Navigating the multi-stakeholder morass: The past, present and future of Internet governance

2013 marks the tenth anniversary of the United Nations’ World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). Although neither a forum focussed exclusively on "Internet governance" nor the first discussion of the topic, WSIS marked the start of a global, decade-long debate on how the Internet is, and should be, managed. A decade later, the Internet has grown exponentially, bringing about massive cultural, social and economic change. And yet, many of the political and policy issues around its governance largely remain the same and are regularly debated in a wide range of fora. This article draws upon historical experiences in the Internet governance debate to explain and assess current discussions and to cast a wary eye into the future.