ScholarlyCommons

The ubiquity of new ICTs such as the mobile phone and their ability to interact with older media, from radio to poetry, is enabling citizens to experiment with innovative ways of influencing politics, interacting among each other as well as with the variety of actors that shape political processes, from governments to private companies to religious organizations. In “media and development” theory, policy and practice, however, strong normative statements about the transformative power of ICTs have often clouded the understanding of how people and communities actually make sense of, and engage with, the old and new communication technologies that surround them. By focusing on three neighboring countries in Africa – Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia – each characterized by a very distinctive approach to ICTs, and by concentrating on processes of state-building and peace-building, our project seeks to bring greater clarity about the expectations and the realities of the use of communication technologies in developing contexts. For more information about this project, visit the website.