Internet governance process
working for the same institutions, attending the same universities, moving in the same social circles, and other ways for building trust. Trust had to be built in an atmosphere where suspicions were already present because of past disputes (e.g. between ITU and ICANN), or to a general feeling of ‘geosuspicion’ caused by the Iraq War, or the common labelling of ‘us vs them’. Trust-building requires patience and a careful sequencing of activities. Each phase of the IGF process aimed at increasing mutual understanding and bringing new knowledge and information to the table. The result was a gradual building of trust as well as a very informed debate. Some proposals, such as an early call to adopt the Framework Convention on the Internet, were declined: the time was not ripe for further formalisation of the Internet governance field. Five years ago it could have created tension and potentially broken the Internet governance process. Today, there is discussion on the global cybersecurity treaty. Proper time management has been essential for handling See Section 7 for further discussion on the highly controversial question of the central ICANN role of ICANN, a US-based institution, in managing Internet names and numbers, the core of the global Internet infrastructure. Five years ago, it was the cause of major controversy. Today, since the US government started the internationalisation of ICANN’s role and structure, things are not as controversial as they used to be. It is a good example that policy issues can be ameliorated over time, if handled carefully and not allowed to degenerate into a policy crisis. The IGF has been very successful in this respect. Diplomats and policy-makers can learn from the IGF about effective trust-building through proper timing of activities and careful sequencing. Time is essential, though not sufficient, for trust-building. Let the policy process evolve In modern society, there is a focus on setting logically consistent schemes and measuring their inputs/outcomes. Global governance and diplomacy are no exceptions to this trend. The 2008 global financial crisis provides an example of how a system, based to a large extent on mathematical modelling, can lead to collapse if it does not consider the complexity of social conditions. In diplomatic history, the risk associated with over-managing policy processes is well illustrated by the success of the Congress of Vienna (1814) and the failure of the Treaty of Versailles (1919). The Congress of Vienna created the basis for one of the most peaceful periods of European history: almost 100 years without a major war. The Treaty of Versailles, on the other hand, 183