Conclusion and Future Work

The goal of this framework is to help build greater understanding of where the current internet departs from the idealized version in liberal-democratic foreign policy. We highlight a number of tensions here, but there are a lot more to be explored. Notably, complete security appears to clash with each and every one of the other principles at various levels of architecture and in the governance tier. In part for this reason, the urgency with which liberal-democratic governments must start with these types of questions, even if at high levels, is great. Understanding what stance to take towards each of these five characteristics is contingent upon an understanding of the underlying tensions. If we want better security, for instance, we have to sacrifice some openness.

The purpose of this exercise—and the tensions identified herein—is not to highlight contradictions for the sake of highlighting contradictions. Rather, the goal is to help liberal-democratic policymakers understand where the internet is currently, where it could be headed, and the implications of those directions. The ultimate goal is to help policymakers understand these tensions so they might be effectively balanced in a more cohesive and coherent strategy.