‘Can you hear me?’ Mobile–radio interactions and governance in Africa

Abstract

The exponential diffusion of mobile phones in Africa and their ability to interact with other media have created new avenues for individuals to interface with power. These forms of engagement, however, have primarily been interpreted through the lenses of the 'liberation technology' agenda, which privileges the relationship between citizens and the state, neglecting the variety of actors and networks that intervene in shaping governance processes, alongside or in competition with the state. Through an ethnography of two local radio stations in Kenya, this article offers a more realistic picture of mobile-radio interactions and their repercussions on governance. The findings illustrate that (1) while these interactive spaces are open to all listeners with access to a phone, they are in practice inhabited by small cohorts of recurrent characters often connected to existing power structures; (2) even in places where basic services are offered by actors other than the state, including non-governmental organizations and criminal networks, the state continues to represent the imagined figure to which listeners address most of their demands; (3) in contrast to the expectations that authorities will act on claims and grievances made public through the media, other factors, including ethnicity, intervene in facilitating or preventing action.

The Mobile Phone in the Diffusion of Knowledge for Institutional Quality in Sub-Saharan Africa

“…In essence, to the best of our knowledge there are currently only four studies that have been positioned on the role of mobile phones in institutional quality in Africa (Snow, 2009;Mathias, 2012;Gagliardone, 2015;Porter et al, 2015).…”

The Role of Openness in the Effect of ICT on Governance

“…Accordingly, as far as we are aware, only four lines of inquiry have assessed the role of ICT on governance in Africa, namely : Porter al. (2016); Gagliardone (2015); Mathias (2012) and Snow (2009).…”

“…The interested reader can find more information on the SDGs in Michel (2016 Porter et al, 2016;Snow, 2009). Fourth, the studies have either not directly: (i) involved the use of ICT for good governance (see Gagliardone, 2015) or (ii) focused on good governance as a development outcome (see Porter et al, 2016). Moreover, it is important to model the ICT-governance nexus by integrating openness as a policy tool in order to internalise the ineluctable phenomenon of globalisation.…”

Government quality determinants of ICT adoption in sub-Saharan Africa

“…We have investigated the opposite relationship. Moreover, we have not been limited to country-specific cases on the one hand and a few governance and ICT variables on the other hand (Snow, 2009;Mathias, 2012;Porter et al, 2015;Gagliardone, 2016 …”

“…To put the above point into greater perspective, the predominant African literature on causality flowing from ICT to governance include, inter alia: (i) Snow (2009) who has established a negative nexus between a country's mobile phone penetration rate and her perceived corruption level; (ii) Mathias (2012) who has documented the growing role of ICT on accountability in the continent; (iv) Gagliardone (2016) has engaged the role of mobileradio interactions on the quality of government in Africa to conclude that government corrective and preventive measures are ameliorated by underlying interactions in Kenya; (v) Porter et al (2015) have focused on Ghana, Malawi and South Africa to establish that the growing relevance of mobile usage in Africa by the youth population can be tailored to achieve greater consistency between policy and practice and (vi) Asongu and Nwachukwu (2016b) have investigated how the mobile phone in the diffusion of knowledge affects institutional quality in SSA.…”