This essay applies the conceptual framework of the Phenomenology / Ethics — most prominently associated with Emmanuel Levinas — to re-read the AfIGF 2014 Abuja conference. Target audience: researchers, doctoral students, policy analysts, and executives.
Introduction: The Problem
For Levinas, ethics emerges from the arrival of the Other's "face." Discussions at AfIGF carry the fundamental question of how to maintain responsibility for the Other in internet space, where faces are physically absent.
This essay argues that the multistakeholder process of AfIGF becomes intelligible in its specificity only through the concept of The face and infinite responsibility, and that the concept itself undergoes transformation under the new material of digital space. Describing this mutual transformation is the task of this essay.
The absent face and responsibility online
2014's themes — anonymity, fake news, hate speech — ask how Levinas's command "thou shalt not kill," emanating from the face, weakens or reconstitutes itself under digital mediation. Nigeria's face-to-face cultural experience can resource resistance to this weakening.
Each session's agenda-setting can be read as a contemporary restaging of the Emmanuel Levinas-type problematic.
The regional IGF (AfIGF) holds a philosophically distinct position as the intermediate category mediating global universality and national particularity.
Protection of alterity
Emmanuel Levinas's concepts are not confined to abstract philosophical discussion; they apply to the concrete agenda items debated at the 2014 conference. We examine that application below.
1. Application to "モバイル革命"
Discussion of "モバイル革命" can be positioned, from the perspective of Emmanuel Levinas's The face and infinite responsibility, as a central problematic. In Nigeria's context, the three layers of regulatory design, social implementation, and citizen participation around モバイル革命 are particularly at stake.
2. Application to "フィンテック"
Discussion of "フィンテック" can be positioned, from the perspective of Emmanuel Levinas's The face and infinite responsibility, as a derivative problematic. In Nigeria's context, the three layers of regulatory design, social implementation, and citizen participation around フィンテック are particularly at stake.
3. Application to "スキル"
Discussion of "スキル" can be positioned, from the perspective of Emmanuel Levinas's The face and infinite responsibility, as a peripheral yet important problematic. In Nigeria's context, the three layers of regulatory design, social implementation, and citizen participation around スキル are particularly at stake.
4. Application to "地域協調"
Discussion of "地域協調" can be positioned, from the perspective of Emmanuel Levinas's The face and infinite responsibility, as a peripheral yet important problematic. In Nigeria's context, the three layers of regulatory design, social implementation, and citizen participation around 地域協調 are particularly at stake.
5. Application to "越境データ"
Discussion of "越境データ" can be positioned, from the perspective of Emmanuel Levinas's The face and infinite responsibility, as a peripheral yet important problematic. In Nigeria's context, the three layers of regulatory design, social implementation, and citizen participation around 越境データ are particularly at stake.
Implications for Executives and Practitioners
The philosophical reflection of this essay is not merely academic. The Emmanuel Levinas perspective carries three practical implications for executives operating in Nigeria.
First, it raises the reflexive question of how the firm's business model connects to the logic of The face and infinite responsibility. Second, in dialogue with regulators and civil society, it suggests dimensions of consensus formation that purely technical arguments cannot reach. Third, it indicates that the long-term ground of business legitimacy lies not so much in technical advantage or market share as in participation in such philosophical-normative debates.
Academic Positioning and Future Research
The argument of this essay attempts to graft a philosophical perspective onto the mainstream political-science and legal approaches to internet governance research. Three future research questions follow.
- Verification of the applicability of Emmanuel Levinas's framework to other IGF conferences
- Comparative contrast between Phenomenology / Ethics and other theoretical traditions
- Exploration of dialogue possibilities with the indigenous intellectual traditions of Nigeria
In particular, the third point has the potential to liberate IGF research from West-centric debate and open a more multi-layered discursive space.
Primary Sources
- IGF Secretariat. Annual Reports of AfIGF.
- AfIGF 2014 Abuja Conference Materials.
- Japan IGF Support Organization. https://japanigf.jp/
- Nakazawa Yuki Blog. https://nkzw.jp/category/igf/
Secondary Sources (Philosophy)
- Works of Emmanuel Levinas (representative texts of Phenomenology / Ethics)
*This piece belongs to the academic essays (philosophy series). The author's views do not necessarily represent those of any institutional affiliation. Feedback and critique are welcome.*
更新履歴
第1稿投稿 2026年6月18日 15時09分（記事コンテンツアップ）
— 中澤祐樹
