The governance of communication networks: Reconsidering the research agenda

Governance arrangements have multiple implications for the norms and practices that influence citizen access to networks, opportunities for freedom of expression, and privacy. This article sets out a research agenda aimed at examining new forms of collective action in practice with a particular focus on how choices are limited by different norms concerning authority and the way these norms are institutionalized in the case of communication network governance. Systematic comparative studies of how governance is constituted in practice are likely to yield insight into how asymmetrical power relations are being played out in a variety of policy forums and how certain norms and practices are becoming standardized with outcomes that frequently depart from idealized visions of the governance process.