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Top1. Introduction
African countries have prioritised the development of strategies to become information and knowledge-based economies. The countries' aim is to participate in the global economy and achieve economic growth (Asongu & Le Roux, 2019; Ordonez, 2015). Part of the activities for supporting the changes in African economies is the formulation and implementation of national information and communication technology (ICT) policies. The ICT policies aims to guide the regulation of ICTs, stimulate innovation, and promote the integration of ICTs in programs, processes and politics that address social challenges (Jorgenson & Vu, 2016; Walsham, 2012). ICT policies, like other public policies, represent a consensus of policy stakeholders with diverse ideas, ideologies, norms, and values (Checchi, Loch, Straub, Sevcik & Meso, 2012; Feenberg, 2005). The application and use of ICT in programs, processes, and politics has empowering and disempowering implications for individuals, collective human agencies and social structures. One of the reasons is that ICTs are “intertwined with issues of power, politics, donor dependencies, institutional arrangements, and inequalities of all sorts” (Walsham & Sahay, 2006:13). Scholars have called for researchers to critically analyse national ICT policies so that often taken for granted policy issues can be highlighted. In this regard, there is a need to generate new knowledge that can inform policymakers to take corrective actions on policy programs and regulations to improve the economic growth and well-being of citizens (Gillwald, 2010; Mansell, 2010; Ordonez, 2015). Thus, ICT policy and regulation scholars need to consider research that uses Critical Social Theory (Kincheloe & McLaren, 2005).
Information systems (IS) researchers claim that studies that have used critical social theory are underrepresented in top information systems journals (see Gomez, 2013; Kvasny & Richardson, 2006; Richardson & Robinson, 2007). Studies that address ICT policy issues are scarce, and published studies do not appear in the mainstream information systems journals. Kendall, Kendall and Kah (2006) noted that ICT policy studies in the context of developing countries are scarce. Similarly, Gillwald (2010) highlights the absence of ICT policy studies in the context of Africa. The author commented that the studies do not critically engage with the assumptions and ideas presented in the policy documents. Thompson and Walsham (2010) highlighted a paucity of ICT for development studies that address issues at the strategic level (or policy) and lack recommendations for practitioners. These few examples demonstrate that there are few studies on ICT policies that have used Critical Social Theory; and scrutinised the assumptions and ideas presented in the policy documents to inform the practices of stakeholders.
Despite a low representation of studies that have used Critical Social Theory in information systems journals, there is a growing body of studies that have been conducted in the context of African countries (see Gomez, 2013; Makoza & Chigona, 2013; Makoza, 2019). It is, therefore, ideal to review the literature on ICT policy studies that have used Critical Social Theory conducted in Africa to highlight the body of knowledge in this area. A literature review on ICT policies in Africa can identify new areas for further research (Boell & Cecez-Kecmanovic, 2014). Against this backdrop, this paper aimed to review critical studies on national ICT policy in the context of African countries using narrative analysis (Pautasso, 2013). Studies conducted in the context of Africa were selected because of the growing interest among African governments in (a) adopting national ICT policies to improve their participation in the global economy (b) the integration of ICT in addressing some of their socio-economic challenges (Asongu & Le Roux, 2019; Ordonez, 2015).