This essay applies the conceptual framework of the Feminist STS — most prominently associated with Donna Haraway — to re-read the School IGF Korea 2023 Seoul conference. Target audience: researchers, doctoral students, policy analysts, and executives.
Introduction: The Problem
Haraway's Cyborg Manifesto offered the political possibility of disrupting binaries — human/machine, nature/culture, male/female. School IGF Korea is a venue where these boundaries are constantly negotiated.
This essay argues that the multistakeholder process of School IGF Korea becomes intelligible in its specificity only through the concept of Cyborg and boundary crossing, and that the concept itself undergoes transformation under the new material of digital space. Describing this mutual transformation is the task of this essay.
Politics of the human/machine boundary
Discussion of 中高生 in South Korea is politics of the human/machine boundary. Haraway's "situated knowledges" suggests that IGF produces situated knowledge even while speaking the universal.
Each session's agenda-setting can be read as a contemporary restaging of the Donna Haraway-type problematic.
The Youth IGF practically raises the philosophical problematic of intergenerational justice.
Situated knowledges
Donna Haraway's concepts are not confined to abstract philosophical discussion; they apply to the concrete agenda items debated at the 2023 conference. We examine that application below.
1. Application to "中高生"
Discussion of "中高生" can be positioned, from the perspective of Donna Haraway's Cyborg and boundary crossing, as a central problematic. In South Korea's context, the three layers of regulatory design, social implementation, and citizen participation around 中高生 are particularly at stake.
2. Application to "ディープフェイク"
Discussion of "ディープフェイク" can be positioned, from the perspective of Donna Haraway's Cyborg and boundary crossing, as a derivative problematic. In South Korea's context, the three layers of regulatory design, social implementation, and citizen participation around ディープフェイク are particularly at stake.
3. Application to "メディアリテラシー"
Discussion of "メディアリテラシー" can be positioned, from the perspective of Donna Haraway's Cyborg and boundary crossing, as a peripheral yet important problematic. In South Korea's context, the three layers of regulatory design, social implementation, and citizen participation around メディアリテラシー are particularly at stake.
4. Application to "若者育成"
Discussion of "若者育成" can be positioned, from the perspective of Donna Haraway's Cyborg and boundary crossing, as a peripheral yet important problematic. In South Korea's context, the three layers of regulatory design, social implementation, and citizen participation around 若者育成 are particularly at stake.
5. Application to "メンタルヘルス"
Discussion of "メンタルヘルス" can be positioned, from the perspective of Donna Haraway's Cyborg and boundary crossing, as a peripheral yet important problematic. In South Korea's context, the three layers of regulatory design, social implementation, and citizen participation around メンタルヘルス are particularly at stake.
Implications for Executives and Practitioners
The philosophical reflection of this essay is not merely academic. The Donna Haraway perspective carries three practical implications for executives operating in South Korea.
First, it raises the reflexive question of how the firm's business model connects to the logic of Cyborg and boundary crossing. 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 Donna Haraway's framework to other IGF conferences
- Comparative contrast between Feminist STS and other theoretical traditions
- Exploration of dialogue possibilities with the indigenous intellectual traditions of South Korea
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 School IGF Korea.
- School IGF Korea 2023 Seoul Conference Materials.
- Japan IGF Support Organization. https://japanigf.jp/
- Nakazawa Yuki Blog. https://nkzw.jp/category/igf/
Secondary Sources (Philosophy)
- Works of Donna Haraway (representative texts of Feminist STS)
*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12日 12時43分（記事コンテンツアップ）
— 中澤祐樹
