SPECIAL ISSUE ON: The Politics of ICT for Development for the International Journal of e-Politics (IJEP)

SUBMISSION DUE DATE: February 1^st, 2011

OBJECTIVE OF THE SPECIAL ISSUE:

When discussing information and communication technology for development (ICT4D), information systems researchers often focus on positive narratives of ICT4D, or alternatively discuss failures of such projects. What is less often discussed is the political dimension—the influence exerted on the decision-making process—of ICT4D.

The idea of development is inherently political as it juxtaposes privileged and deprived societies and ties them together in a relationship. Amartya Sen, the Economics Nobel Prize laureate, conceptualizes development as the set of capabilities that give the individual the opportunity to be autonomous and realize the desired condition of ultimate happiness. Among these capabilities, which constitute an inherent attribute of freedom and become the means to achieve development, political liberties are typically neglected, especially in the ICT4D literature. We suggest that ICT4D may be limited in its ability to confer political liberties, but is an inherently political activity. Thus, in this call, we are interested both in the political potential of ICT4D, and the need to take a more politically informed view of the process of ICT4D at the macro and micro level.

In the main, ICT4D initiatives aim at improving people’s living conditions by providing access to ICT tools. Avgerou (2008) talks of three discourses that can be identified in the current literature on ICT4D: 1) the transference of information systems knowledge from developed economies to developing economies, 2) the social embeddedness of information systems innovation in the context of developing countries and 3) the information systems innovation as a transformative socio-economic process. What is invariably intrinsic in all three of these discourses is the political dimension. This special issue welcomes papers that take an overtly political stance toward ICT4D.

Topics to be discussed in this special issue include (but are not limited to) the following:

 

·         Activism in ICT4D projects

·         Communal engagement and ICT4D

·         Critical and emancipatory perspectives on ICT4D

·         Ethical dimensions of ICT4D

·         ICT4D and the public sphere

·         Implications of existing social conditions in ICT4D projects

·         New theoretical perspectives on the politics of ICT4D

·         Pluralism in ICT4D initiatives

·         Political debates on ICT4D

·         Political properties of ICT4D projects

·         Politics of social inclusion and ICT4D

·         Politics of the ICT4D language

·         Stakeholders’ political agendas in ICT4D

 

Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit papers for this special theme issue on The Politics of ICT4D on or before February 1^st, 2011. All submissions must be original and may not be under review by another publication. INTERESTED AUTHORS SHOULD CONSULT THE JOURNAL’S GUIDELINES FOR MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSIONS at http://www.igi-global.com/development/author_info/guidelines submission.pdf. All submitted papers will be reviewed on a double-blind, peer review basis. Papers must follow APA style for reference citations.

 

The International Journal of e-Politics (IJEP) establishes the foundations of e-politics as an emerging interdisciplinary area of research and practice, as well as offers a venue for publications that focus on theories and empirical research on the manifestations of e-politics in various contexts and environments. This journal encompasses diverse aspects of e-politics, including: strategy, e-commerce, decision sciences, marketing, economics, psychology, sociology, anthropology, media studies, communication studies, women studies, black studies, political science, philosophy, law, criminology, and ethics. 

 

This journal is an official publication of the Information Resources Management Association www.igi-global.com/ijep.

Editor-in-Chief: Celia Romm Livermore, Wayne State University, USA

Published: Quarterly (both in Print and Electronic form)

 

All submissions should be should be directed to the attention of:

Antonio Díaz Andrade (antonio.diaz@aut.ac.nz)

Cathy Urquhart (c.urquhart@mmu.ac.uk)

Guest Editors

International Journal of e-Politics