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New Media & Society
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Mutiny on the bandwidth: the semiotics of statehood in the internet domain name registries of Pitcairn Island and Niue

Philip E. Steinberg

Florida State University, USA, psteinbe{at}coss.fsu.edu

Stephen D. Mcdowell

Florida State University, USA, smcdowel{at}mailev.fsu.edu

The internet has evolved to have a complex top-level domain name system, in which generic top-level domains such as .com and .org coexist with country-code top-level domains such as .UK and .JP. In this article, the history and significance of this hybrid naming system is examined, with specific attention directed to the manner in which it simultaneously reproduces claims to globalism, state sovereignty, and the presumption of United States hegemony. It is found that the domain name system affirms the centrality of the sovereign state while concurrently challenging its underlying basis in an idealized nexus of nation, government, and territory. These themes are explored through case studies of two Pacific island microstate domains: .PN (Pitcairn Island) and .NU (Niue).

Key Words: domain names • hegemony • ICANN • internet • Niue • Pitcairn Island

New Media & Society, Vol. 5, No. 1, 47-67 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/1461444803005001907
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[Abstract] [PDF]