The transformative effects of multistakeholderism in Internet governance: A case study of the East Africa Internet Governance Forum

International regime theory, the theory of elite competition, and a modified version of the actor-centered institutionalism model were used to examine the power of stakeholders, including impacts of institutional endowments on stakeholder influence within the EAIGF and impacts of participation in the EAIGF on member country Internet governance tactics. Data were collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews with EAIGF participants, observations of the 2012 EAIGF meeting, and qualitative document analysis of EAIGF documents and related policy documents from EAC member states. Findings reveal the EAIGF promotes capacity building, knowledge sharing, and policy transfer within the region and has contributed to a shift in the balance of power in policymaking processes from state-centric to multistakeholder. However, the forum reinforced influence of states and stakeholders with stronger institutional endowments on the framing of policy issues within the forum. Thus, policy decisions attributed to the forum are likely reflective of the preferences of stronger stakeholders.