Welcome to the InfoSci Platform
Reference Hub1
The Developmental Effect of a New Political Anomaly on the Oldest ICT: A Critique of the Banning of Short Wave Radios in Zimbabwe

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

Sam Takavarasha Jr., Eldred V. Masunungure
Copyright: © 2014 |Pages: 27
ISBN13: 9781466647190|ISBN10: 1466647191|EISBN13: 9781466647206
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-4719-0.ch008
Cite Chapter Cite Chapter

MLA

Takavarasha Jr., Sam, and Eldred V. Masunungure. "The Developmental Effect of a New Political Anomaly on the Oldest ICT: A Critique of the Banning of Short Wave Radios in Zimbabwe." IT in the Public Sphere: Applications in Administration, Government, Politics, and Planning, edited by Zaigham Mahmood, IGI Global, 2014, pp. 157-183. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-4719-0.ch008

APA

Takavarasha Jr., S. & Masunungure, E. V. (2014). The Developmental Effect of a New Political Anomaly on the Oldest ICT: A Critique of the Banning of Short Wave Radios in Zimbabwe. In Z. Mahmood (Ed.), IT in the Public Sphere: Applications in Administration, Government, Politics, and Planning (pp. 157-183). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-4719-0.ch008

Chicago

Takavarasha Jr., Sam, and Eldred V. Masunungure. "The Developmental Effect of a New Political Anomaly on the Oldest ICT: A Critique of the Banning of Short Wave Radios in Zimbabwe." In IT in the Public Sphere: Applications in Administration, Government, Politics, and Planning, edited by Zaigham Mahmood, 157-183. Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 2014. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-4719-0.ch008

Export Reference

Mendeley
Favorite

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.

Request Access

You do not own this content. Please login to recommend this title to your institution's librarian or purchase it from the IGI Global bookstore.