ICTs, Statebuilding, and Peacebuilding in Africa

The special collection features original research from leading scholars who have challenged existing narratives on the role of ICTs in Africa, and have suggested new ways to examine how ICTs are being used in countries as diverse as Ethiopia, Nigeria, Kenya, Somalia, Niger and Rwanda to shape processes of state-building and peace-building. Despite strong assertions in the existing literature regarding the usefulness of ICTs, there is actually very little empirical understanding of the role that ICTs play in these processes in Africa, especially from an end-user's perspective. The contributions in this collection seek to address this gap, and suggest an agenda for allowing local knowledge to more significantly shape ICT-based projects.

All Items

• The Evolution of the Internet in Ethiopia and Rwanda: Towards a “Developmental” Model?

  Iginio Gagliardone, Frederick Golooba-Mutebi

  8

• ‘The Opportunity Exists. Why Don’t They Seize It?’ Political (In)Competence and the Potential of ICTs for Good Governance in Niger Republic

  Gado Alzouma

  Art. 29

• Satellites, Plasmas and Law: The Role of TeleCourt in Changing Conceptions of Justice and Authority in Ethiopia

  Zenebe Beyene, Abdissa Zerai, Iginio Gagliardone

  Art. 28

• Political Entrepreneurialism: Reflections of a Civil Servant on the Role of Political Institutions in Technology Innovation and Diffusion in Kenya

  Elijah Bitange Ndemo

  Art. 15

• Journalism from the ‘Silicon Savannah’: The Vexed Relationship Between Nairobi’s Newsmakers and its ICT4D Community

  Nicholas Benequista

  Art. 12

• ‘And Then He Switched off the Phone’: Mobile Phones, Participation and Political Accountability in South Sudan’s Western Equatoria State

  Mareike Schomerus, Anouk S. Rigterink

  Art. 10

• Silencing Boko Haram: Mobile Phone Blackout and Counterinsurgency in Nigeria’s Northeast region

  Jacob Udo-Udo Jacob, Idorenyin Akpan

  Art. 8

• ‘Chieftaincy’ in the Social Media Space: Community Policing in a Twitter Convened Baraza

  Duncan Mainye Omanga

  Art. 1