Critical Ict4d (Information and Communication Technologies for Development)

The edited volume Critical ICT4D highlights the need for a paradigm change in theorising, designing, and researching Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D). Engaging authors from the Majority World and entering a process of restoring epistemic justice in knowledge production and ownership, the text:

• Reflects on the histories and narratives around development programmes, their deep-rooted socio-political background, and the power relations integrated into or induced by such measures
• Problematises the current scholarship and practices through decolonial and pluralistic approaches built with an explicit perspective of resisting epistemic violence
• Constructs justice-enacting engagements of technologies with society.

Offering thematic discussions in many development sectors with up-to-date case studies informed by recent research in the field, it sheds light on constructive contributions of critical ICT4D research. Written in accessible language, the book will appeal to postgraduate students, fellow researchers, policymakers in the fields of sociology, development studies, STS, critical data studies, surveillance studies, international relations, public administration, and information systems.

Azadeh Akbari is Assistant Professor in Public Administration and digital Transformation at the University of Twente, the Netherlands. She is a European Union’s Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Global fellow for her project on Authoritarian Smart Cities. She is a member of the board of directors at the International Surveillance Studies Network and the founder and director of Surveillance in the Majority World Research Network. Her research focuses on digital authoritarianism, use of surveillance technologies in urban spaces especially against women, and data justice.

Silvia Masiero is Associate Professor of Information Systems at the University of Oslo, Norway. Her research focuses on ICT4D, particularly on the role of digital platforms in socio-economic development processes, digital social protection, platform-mediated surveillance and decolonial approaches to information systems research. She is Editor-In-Chief of Information Technology for Development and Chair of the IFIP Working Group 9.4 on the Implications of Information and Digital Technologies for Development.