Public Diplomacy, Private Laws

Secretly negotiated trade deals like TPP, TTIP and ACTA are the exact opposite of "public diplomacy:" smoke-filled rooms where bureaucrats and industry figures negotiate binding private law that affects the lives of hundreds of millions of people without any legislative scrutiny, let alone public participation. But across the world, netroots activists have found that their common interest in fundamental justice, their common expertise in technology and their common presence in virtual spaces provides for a surprisingly effective check against these offensives run by the most powerful multinational corporations in the history of the world. This unlikely turn of events points to a model for global solidarity, but it will only bear fruit if the network itself can be kept free, fair and open.

Cory Doctorow was the first Canada-U.S. Fulbright Visiting Research Chair in Public Diplomacy at CPD in 2006 and co-editor of Boing Boing. On September 30 as the USC Master of Public Diplomacy program celebrated ten years of Canadian Fulbright Scholars, 25 years of Fulbright Canada, and 70 years of the Fulbright program.

Moderating this discussion was Henry Jenkins, Provost Professor of Communication, Journalism, Cinematic Arts and Education at USC.

About Cory Doctorow

Cory Doctorow is a science fiction author, activist, journalist, and blogger. He is the author of the YA graphic novel In Real Life, the nonfiction business book Information Doesn’t Want to be Free, young adult novels including Homeland, Pirate Cinema, and Little Brother, and novels for adults including Rapture of the Nerds and Maker. He works for the Electronic Frontier Foundation and co-founded the UK Open Rights Group. Born in Toronto, Canada, he now lives in Los Angeles.