The Purpose of Constituencies?

[Milton L Mueller]

Andrew:
The real purpose of constituencies is to give a few people a little power base from which they can operate; to empower some at the expense of the rest of us. The other purpose is to fragment our communication as a stakeholder group. No one who supports the mission of NCSG will really want to form a new constituency. They can form interest groups, ad hoc coalitions, working groups and so on. All that can and will be done and will lead to constructive results. But constituency-formation is a way fpr people to fragment and undermine NCSG and I would not encourage anyone to pursue it. 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: NCSG-NCUC [mailto:NCSG-NCUC-DISCUSS at LISTSERV.SYR.EDU] On Behalf Of
> Andrew A. Adams
> Sent: Wednesday, June 29, 2011 6:28 PM
> To: NCSG-NCUC-DISCUSS at LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
> Subject: [NCSG-NCUC-DISCUSS] The Purpose of Constituencies?
> 
> In regards specifically to the notion of creating an "academic"
> constituency within the Non-Commercial Stakeholder Group, it strikes me
> that there isn't really a clear definition of the purpose of
> constituencies within SGs. The purpose of the SGs would appear clear -
> to provide the GNSO with balanced (in multiple ways) inputs from various
> groups whose views are believed to be important in reaching suitable
> compromises on individual issues or balancing benefits and detriments
> between groups across multiple decisions. Whether this works or is the
> right structure is a separate question, at least the intent is
> relatively clearly defined. However, within SGs, the purpose of
> constituencies appears to me to have been pushed as a thing for its own
> sake, perhaps with hidden motives such as attempting to weaken consensus
> or majority dominance within some SGs. But the rationale and the
> expected structure that should emerge within NCSG from the proposed
> multiple constituencies is still unclear. Is it intended that any group
> with a significant common factor should form separate constituencies,
> with individual's and organisation's overlaps between constituencies
> allowing for our multiple facets? I am both an academic researching
> relevant issues and a registrant of a personal domain name, for example.
> 
> Or are constituencies supposed to reflect differing types of SG member
> where those different groups share some specific common interest in
> elements of the domain name system? If it's the latter, I do not see an
> academics group being suitable, though as mentioned non-profit/public
> universities as bodies might wish to form their own group or join NPOC
> (if approved).
> 
> 
> --
> Professor Andrew A Adams                      aaa at meiji.ac.jp
> Professor at Graduate School of Business Administration,  and Deputy
> Director of the Centre for Business Information Ethics
> Meiji University, Tokyo, Japan       http://www.a-cubed.info/