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| Title: | Globalisation, ICTs, and the New Imperialism: Perspectives on Africa in the Global Electronic Village |
| Author: | Ya'u, Yunusa Z. |
| Year: | 2005 |
| Periodical: | Africa Development: A Quarterly Journal of CODESRIA (ISSN 0850-3907) |
| Volume: | 30 |
| Issue: | 1-2 |
| Pages: | 98-124 |
| Language: | English |
| Notes: | biblio. refs. |
| Geographic term: | Africa |
| Subjects: | globalization dependence information technology Development and Technology international relations communication international trade imperialism Communication and technology |
| Abbreviations: | GEV=Global Electronic Village ICT=Information and Communication Technology |
| External link: | https://www.jstor.org/stable/24484604 |
| Abstract: | Globalization as promoted by the World Trade Organization (WTO) is resulting in a new imperialism that is characterized by knowledge dependence and the shrinking of the national space for decisionmaking. It is facilitated by information and communication technologies (ICTs). The centrality of ICTs to globalization has resulted in an international concern for bridging the unequal access to ICTs that has come to be termed as digital divide. However, the discourse about bridging the digital divide tends to mask the reality of the digital deficit which is the consequence of a wider development divide. Yet the reality is that the marginality of Africa cannot be addressed by isolationism as a counterforce to globalization. What is needed is a rethinking of the terms and nature of Africa's integration in the global economy. How is Africa located in the new global system? What are the implications and the challenges that such a positioning presents to the continent? What are the efforts on the ground to confront the challenges? How viable are they? What alternative options for confronting these challenges exist? This contribution addresses the substance and nature of the new imperialism and offers an explanation as to why the digital divide tends to increase rather than decrease in spite of the various efforts at closing it. It concludes by offering some directions in which the digital deficit as part of the wider development divide can be addressed. In any case, the priority in Africa should be democratizing access to ICTs. Bibliogr., sum. in English and in French. [Journal abstract, edited] |
