United Nations institutions for the development of digital cooperation

Abstract

The article presents the results of a study of the characteristics of modern institutions created by the United Nations (UN) in the framework of the direction of activities on digital cooperation. The methodological basis of the research is constructivism as one of the approaches to the study of international relations. The creation of international institutions for digital development can be explained within the framework of the constructivist approach as a manifestation of the priority of values and standards as well as adherence to the logic of public good and societal benefit. For the first time in scientific literature, an analysis of institutions such as the Global Forum on Internet Governance and the UN Secretary General’s High Level Group on Digital Cooperation is presented. The implementation of initiatives for the creation of international institutions considered, and the choice of their institutional design, became possible only with the support of the governments of Member States. The institutional infrastructure that is created significantly increases the opportunities for non-state actors to participate in global politics and exercise direct influence on the UN. The process of preparing the UN Roadmap for Digital Cooperation was accompanied by the creation of unprecedented institutional forms that allowed for the involvement of a wide range of stakeholders. The digital revolution and the subsequent rapidity of communications and transformation of forms of interaction cause and facilitate the new institutional forms and necessitate the developmental policy reforms. The algorithm for discussing the report of the High-Level Group, which ensures a balanced and diversified participation of state and non-state actors in the preparation of international recommendations, is particularly innovative.