In Ruling the Root, Milton Mueller uses the theoretical framework of institutional economics to analyze the global policy and governance problems created by the assignment of Internet domain names and addresses. "The root" is the top of the domain name hierarchy and the Internet address space. It is the only point of centralized control in what is otherwise a distributed and voluntaristic network of networks. Both domain names and IP numbers are valuable resources, and their assignment on a coordinated basis is essential to the technical operation of the Internet. Mueller explains how control of the root is being leveraged to control the Internet itself in such key areas as trademark and copyright protection, surveillance of users, content regulation, and regulation of the domain name supply industry.Control of the root originally resided in an informally organized technical elite comprised mostly of American computer scientists. As the Internet became commercialized and domain name registration became a profitable business, a six-year struggle over property rights and the control of the root broke out among Internet technologists, business and intellectual property interests, international organizations, national governments, and advocates of individual rights. By the late 1990s, it was apparent that only a new international institution could resolve conflicts among the factions in the domain name wars. Mueller recounts the fascinating process that led to the formation of a new international regime around ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. In the process, he shows how the vaunted freedom and openness of the Internet is being diminished by the institutionalization of the root.
Ruling the Root
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"If you care about the prospect of losing your rights...this book's for you - perhaps even on a beach." Anick Jesdanun LA Times "If you care about the prospect of losing your rights...this book's for you." Anick Jesdanun LA Times
About the Author
Milton L. Mueller is Professor at Syracuse University's School of Information Studies. He is the author of Ruling the Root: Internet Governance and the Taming of Cyberspace (MIT Press, 2002) and other books.
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Work!
29 Oct 2002
By Robert Cannon
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
Mueller's work, recounting the Internet's Domain Name Wars, is entirely "interesting." Little is widely known about the history and origins of the Internet; what many think they know constitutes little more than mythology. Here is an excellent recount of the history of the Internet's development, and how conflicts with the naming space came to be. This is required reading for those interested and concerned with the potential success or failure of the Internet governance experiment. This is a continuation of a long history of excellent work by Mueller and is well recommended.
8 of 11 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Accurate
24 July 2003
By chris@ambler.net
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
As one who was there for this entire timeline, I can attest to the accuracy of Mueller's book (and the suggestion to read Crocker's account is misguided, as his account is about the most biased treatment available. Be warned on that as well).
What this book, and no other treatment to date has been able to do is capture the flavor of the events. Notwithstanding that, however, Mueller explains what happened and why, and as an academic accounting, is spot on, and his analysis is just as accurate.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very useful book
7 April 2008
By Tim Wu
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
Mueller is an excellent and very careful researcher, and this book reflects that. This book was a crucial research tool for my own book, Who Controls the Internet?
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