ABSTRACT
In this section, we consider the new approaches to spectrum management which are attracting attention following a growing realisation of the limitations of the liberalisation agenda. It is tempting to say that the liberalisation paradigm is over and we are entering a new one, but this metaphor seems inadequate.*
The phrase ‘paradigm shift’ was originally coined by Thomas Kuhn in the early 1960s† and had a specific meaning. He argued that the history of the natural sciences was not characterised by the steady march of progress: it was revolutionary rather than evolutionary. Just like in the arts or literature, there were periods of rapid change when existing thought systems collapsed under the weight of anomalies and unanswered questions. From this crisis would emerge a new paradigm and the old one would be discarded. In time the weaknesses of this new paradigm would be exposed and the process would begin again.
