{"id":75625,"date":"2022-10-07T11:00:09","date_gmt":"2022-10-07T00:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=75625"},"modified":"2022-11-03T12:12:21","modified_gmt":"2022-11-03T01:12:21","slug":"us-candidate-beats-russian-to-secure-top-un-telecommunications-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/us-candidate-beats-russian-to-secure-top-un-telecommunications-job\/","title":{"rendered":"US candidate beats Russian to secure top UN telecommunications job"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n

On 29 September, member states of the International Telecommunications Union voted to elect Doreen Bogdan-Martin as the organisation\u2019s next secretary-general<\/a>. Bogdan-Martin\u2014a US national who\u2019s served in the ITU since 1994\u2014was in contention for the top job with Rashid Ismailov, a former Russian deputy minister and executive at Huawei, Nokia and Ericsson.<\/p>\n

The election was overshadowed by Russia\u2019s ongoing collision course with the international rules-based system. And the outcome largely reflects the amount of goodwill Russia still carries among the UN membership. The Russian candidate received 25 votes, while Bogdan-Martin won with 139 of the total 172 votes cast. When she takes office on 1 January 2023, she will be the ITU\u2019s first female secretary-general.<\/p>\n

Framing the election in terms of geopolitical symbolism, however, does an injustice to the winning candidate\u2019s expertise and competence. It also miscasts the role of the ITU.<\/p>\n

In recent years, a sentiment has emerged that China is outpacing the US, Australia and like-minded countries in efforts to set international standards for emerging technology.<\/p>\n

Much of the recent commentary has placed the election of ITU secretary-general in the context of internet governance against the backdrop of technology decoupling and the alleged emergence of various internets. Multi-stakeholder governance<\/a> is pitted against authoritarian control, with the principles of an open, free, global, interoperable, reliable and secure internet at stake. Russia and China want the ITU<\/a> to take up a role in internet regulation, whereas the US and its partners prefer to keep this policy area out of the organisation\u2019s remit. But this is too narrow a spectrum through which to see the ITU\u2019s role and capabilities.<\/p>\n

The mandate of the ITU is to set regulations and technical standards for telecommunications: in the late 1890s, it did so for postal services, later for telegraphs and telephones, and today for the interoperability of internet-based communications. The organisation facilitates the global management of the radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbits, oversees the development of standards for information and communications technologies with an eye to interoperability, and delivers capacity building to help close the digital divide and drive digital transformation in the global south.<\/p>\n

To properly assess the impact of the ITU\u2019s work, and in particular the issue of interoperability, it\u2019s important to understand its internal processes. Initiatives for standards are not dictated by the praesidium. Although they require the secretary-general\u2019s consent to proceed, they are generated bottom-up through proposals by member states, in consultation with private industry. Successful proposals are typically years in the making and involve deeply technical debates among experts, and there are many procedural steps and consultations before a consensus agreement is reached.<\/p>\n

While Huawei\u2019s proposal to the ITU in 2020 for a new internet protocol definitely rocked the boat, many in the technical internet community don\u2019t expect it to come to fruition. Significant uptake of any proposed standard is dependent on broad global support. When consensus is reached, however, agreement texts are set in stone, and it will be costly to change or refrain from observing them.<\/p>\n

If there\u2019s genuine concern about the direction the ITU is taking or the direction of internet governance more broadly, liberal democratic countries, Australia included, may need to change course altogether.<\/p>\n

They will need to foster a proactive rather than defensive agenda that includes more concerted participation of public- and private-sector representatives in the ITU\u2019s technical working groups.<\/p>\n

Also, Western states\u2019 preference for internet, cybersecurity and technology standards to be managed through alternative forums, such as the Internet Engineering Task Force and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (which tend to be more industry driven), means they have to make a greater effort to be inclusive and ensure these forums tangibly benefit those in emerging economies too.<\/p>\n

Simply dismissing and pushing back against an ITU role in internet, cybersecurity and tech governance won\u2019t cut it. The ITU is a known and generally trusted entity in the global south.<\/p>\n

Unlike in countries such as Australia, cybersecurity, internet governance and emerging technology professionals in developing nations have largely come from the telecommunications sector. This includes countries such as India\u2014a close Quad partner\u2014and most Pacific island nations. Many have personally benefited from the ITU\u2019s capacity-development work.<\/p>\n

More strategically, the ITU is a forum in which all member states have a vote\u2014by default. This means government departments don\u2019t have to compete for a seat on the table and invest time and scarce resources in other, potentially seen as parallel, forums. Across the board, emerging economies tend to prefer a stronger lead role for the UN secretariat and UN agencies in supporting digital development and cybersecurity.<\/p>\n

Is the election of Bogdan-Martin irrelevant, then? The reality of managing international organisations is that a secretary-general is more of a secretary than a general. They have influence over agendas and processes\u2014which is important\u2014but they will have to work through an administration with seniors representing all geographic areas. More than that, no leader of an international organisation can allow themselves to be seen as favouring national positions; that would instantly undermine their credibility. The same has applied for the outgoing secretary-general for the past eight years, China\u2019s Houlin Zhao.<\/p>\n

In her first statement<\/a> as secretary-general-elect, Bogdan-Martin expressed her belief in \u2018the power and potential of connectivity to drive economic growth and transform healthcare, education, employment, gender equality and youth empowerment\u2019 and refers to digital technologies as \u2018crucial to efforts to meet\u2019 the UN Sustainable Development Goals.<\/p>\n

This may be a first sign of her priorities and interests and reflects her recent experience directing the ITU\u2019s development work.<\/p>\n

Her election can become a significant milestone if it serves as a turning point for reigniting the enthusiasm of the US and its allies and partners for the ITU\u2019s work. However, significant efforts by US President Joe Biden\u2019s administration will be required to instil lofty ambitions, such as those articulated in the Declaration on the Future of the Internet<\/a>, into the proceedings of the various ITU-run technical working groups and to get stakeholders in the telecoms, cyber and technology industries sufficiently interested in articulating, promoting and advocating liberal norms and democratic values.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On 29 September, member states of the International Telecommunications Union voted to elect Doreen Bogdan-Martin as the organisation\u2019s next secretary-general. Bogdan-Martin\u2014a US national who\u2019s served in the ITU since 1994\u2014was in contention for the top …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":761,"featured_media":75626,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2138,242,692,332,92],"class_list":["post-75625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-cybersecurity","tag-international-telecommunications-union","tag-internet","tag-technology","tag-united-nations"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nUS candidate beats Russian to secure top UN telecommunications job | The Strategist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/us-candidate-beats-russian-to-secure-top-un-telecommunications-job\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"US candidate beats Russian to secure top UN telecommunications job | The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On 29 September, member states of the International Telecommunications Union voted to elect Doreen Bogdan-Martin as the organisation\u2019s next secretary-general. 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