The Developmental Effect of a New Political Anomaly on the Oldest ICT: A Critique of the Banning of Short Wave Radios in Zimbabwe

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Author(s): Sam Takavarasha Jr. (University of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe)and Eldred V. Masunungure (University of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe)
Copyright: 2015
Pages: 25
Source title: Human Rights and Ethics: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications
Source Author(s)/Editor(s): Information Resources Management Association (USA)
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-6433-3.ch094

Keywords: Ethics & Law / Ethics and Social Responsibility / Information Science Reference / Security & Forensics

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Abstract

Economic growth in countries like China, whose democratic credentials and human rights records are unimpressive, compels us to question the democracy-development nexus articulated by eminent writers like Amartya Sen. Against this background, this chapter assesses the impact of pseudo-democratic politics on the use of ICTs for development. It is based on research done in Zimbabwe, an electoral autocracy that recovered from being the world's worst economy in 2008 to impressive economic stability post-2009 (i.e. after the formation of a coalition government that, however, did not usher in substantive improvements in political and civic freedoms and liberties). Sen's (1999) capability approach and Illich's (1973) concept of conviviality are used for analysing the banning of the use of short wave radios in Zimbabwe just before elections that will signal the termination of the coalition government before the end of 2013. The research investigates if and how political and civic freedoms affect development. It shows that in a dual political economy like Zimbabwe, the formal (urban) economy may stabilize without political freedoms yet enclaves of poverty may deepen in the informal and rural economies due to lack of human development. A framework for the effect of politics on the role of analogue radio in development is proposed.

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The Developmental Effect of a New Political Anomaly on the Oldest ICT: A Critique of the Banning of Short Wave Radios in Zimbabwe

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