The competing policies of internet governance

The internet is the world's largest platform for dissemination and communication of information. Influenced by the rising power of new geopolitical actors, it has created new forms of institutional progress. While the internet is vast and spans the globe, no official authority has "control" of it; the United States, however, exerts great influence on the shaping of norms and policies. The U.S. was the first global player to be involved in creating computer network systems and this has only complicated the puzzle of what explains governance of the internet. Internet governance derives from a debate between state preferences and self-governance. Is the internet self-governed by neutral, private actors, or do national interests interfere in this neutral governance process? This thesis seeks to provide an explanation. The argument of this thesis is that while state interests are considered in internet governance politics, path-dependent conditions have laid the foundation for private actors to have a greater influence on internet policy on a global scale.