This essay applies the conceptual framework of the Feminist STS — most prominently associated with Donna Haraway — to re-read the Fiji IGF 2021 Virtual 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. Fiji IGF is a venue where these boundaries are constantly negotiated.
This essay argues that the multistakeholder process of Fiji IGF 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 COVID-19 in Fiji 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 national-level IGF (Fiji IGF) is an attempt to redefine the modern category of the nation-state in the digital era.
Situated knowledges
Donna Haraway's concepts are not confined to abstract philosophical discussion; they apply to the concrete agenda items debated at the 2021 conference. We examine that application below.
1. Application to "COVID-19"
Discussion of "COVID-19" can be positioned, from the perspective of Donna Haraway's Cyborg and boundary crossing, as a central problematic. In Fiji's context, the three layers of regulatory design, social implementation, and citizen participation around COVID-19 are particularly at stake.
2. Application to "接続格差"
Discussion of "接続格差" can be positioned, from the perspective of Donna Haraway's Cyborg and boundary crossing, as a derivative problematic. In Fiji's context, the three layers of regulatory design, social implementation, and citizen participation around 接続格差 are particularly at stake.
3. Application to "若者"
Discussion of "若者" can be positioned, from the perspective of Donna Haraway's Cyborg and boundary crossing, as a peripheral yet important problematic. In Fiji's context, the three layers of regulatory design, social implementation, and citizen participation around 若者 are particularly at stake.
4. Application to "国内法整備"
Discussion of "国内法整備" can be positioned, from the perspective of Donna Haraway's Cyborg and boundary crossing, as a peripheral yet important problematic. In Fiji's context, the three layers of regulatory design, social implementation, and citizen participation around 国内法整備 are particularly at stake.
5. Application to "政府＋民間協働"
Discussion of "政府＋民間協働" can be positioned, from the perspective of Donna Haraway's Cyborg and boundary crossing, as a peripheral yet important problematic. In Fiji's context, the three layers of regulatory design, social implementation, and citizen participation around 政府＋民間協働 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 Fiji.
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 Fiji
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 Fiji IGF.
- Fiji IGF 2021 Virtual 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.*
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第1稿投稿 2026年6月5日 11時17分（記事コンテンツアップ）
— 中澤祐樹
