Editor's Note:
''Does the global diffusion of the Internet signify the final end of the state's ability to control society, or is the state on the contrary maintaining
or even strengthening its hold of society f Several observers have taken the latter position, most recently Goldsmith and Wu (2006), authors of Who Controls the Internet?, while critics claim this is grossly misleading, and that international regimes and a myriad of nonstate actors such as private firms and nongovernmental organizations play a much greater role in Internet governance (Mathiason 2007). In our view, thus structured, such debate risks reiterating a much older (and largely stalemated) debate about whether the nation-state is "obstinate or obsolete" (Hoffman 1966), mirrored also in the larger debate about globalization. The goal of the present Forum1 is to reexamine and ultimately problematize this debate by discussing what actors are controlling what aspects of Internet usage, and under what conditions. A brief introduction to this is given in the first essay, written by the Editors. The following contributions demonstrate that, rather than seeking a final word on who controls the Internet, it is more fruitful to unpack the complexity of control in the digital age, and indeed
the diversity and preliminary nature of available analyses. It is also for this reason we have invited contributors who elaborate a variety of perspectives, including a stout defender of
state-centrism (Hamoud Salhi), a contributor who unravels the complexity of public-private partnerships in Internet control (Myriam Dunn Cavelty), and advocates of more critical
perspectives emphasizing complexity (J.P. Singh), interactivity and discourse (M.I. Franklin). We believe that the global scope and spatial origins of the authors in this Forum imply
experiences and outlooks which help reveal new insights and cross-fertilizations, which goes beyond the dominant US-centered perspectives on international relations in general and the
Internet in particular.''