From community to assemblage? : ICT provides a site for inclusion and exclusion in the global south

Abstract

The role of information and communication technology (ICT) in development has been discussed from two distinctly different perspectives: some view it as a means for opening new alleys for the facilitation of development and democracy, while others assess it as counterproductive. Furthermore, it has been emphasised that people in cities and rural areas utilise ICT in different ways, as do people with wealth and education compared to poor people. In Africa, Kenya has declared itself an ICT hub. The state has emphasised ICT in promoting services, much less freedom of expression. This article discusses ICT and development via the filter of assemblage, a key concept developed by Deleuze and Guattari (2004/1980. A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia. London: Continuum.). They emphasised fluidity as well as micro- and macro-level dichotomies. When communities based on sharing and consistent social order meet new technology, the change goes deeper than that of improved services. The basic difference might be the fact that a community is constructed on cultural ties developed over time, which strengthens immobility and stability, while an assemblage is characterised by mobility and fluidity. Thus, a system of values, hierarchies, and inherited traditions is challenged, mixed with 'new' problems brought about by individualised behaviour. ; Peer reviewed