Digital colonialism: US empire and the new imperialism in the Global South

Kwet, Michael

doi:10.1177/0306396818823172

Cited by 295 publications

(148 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Western providers design technology and systems that ensure their foothold in and continued dominance of the technology ecosystem. Kwet (2019) supports these arguments by noting that digital colonialism is reinforced by the implementation of infrastructure and systems that enable Western‐based providers.…”

Section: Controlling (Most Of) the Mapping Processmentioning

confidence: 99%

To what extent can online mapping be decolonial? A journey throughout Indigenous cartography in Canada

McGurk¹,

Caquard²

2020

Canadian Geographies / Géographies canadiennes

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In this paper, we describe and reflect upon our journey through Indigenous online mapping in Canada. This journey has been planned according to an academic goal: assessing the potential of online cartography for decolonial purposes. To reach this goal, we have followed methodological directions provided by Indigenous scholar Linda Tuhiwai Smith to review 18 Indigenous web‐mapping sites across Canada. Supported by a series of ten interviews, this content analysis enabled us to sketch some of the contours of contemporary Indigenous cartography. On one hand, Indigenous communities largely control the data that are shared on these websites. They also partially control the way these data are represented through the mobilization of digital storytelling technologies that are better aligned with Indigenous ways of envisioning relationships to places than conventional maps. On the other hand, they do not have much control over the technological aspects of these projects, for which they remain heavily dependent on non‐Indigenous partners. Throughout this journey, we noticed that women's voices remained marginal in most of these mapping projects, but we also identified evidence supporting the idea that these voices are starting to play a vital role in the on‐going effort of decolonizing mapping processes.

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Section: Controlling (Most Of) the Mapping Processmentioning

confidence: 99%

To what extent can online mapping be decolonial? A journey throughout Indigenous cartography in Canada

McGurk¹,

Caquard²

2020

Canadian Geographies / Géographies canadiennes

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“…Ещё более предметно и жёстко проблематика глобального лидерства, доминирования и влияния применительно к платформам и цифровым технологиям, ставится в нео-и постмарксистских исследованиях цифрового (data colonialism) или, иначе, информационного колониализма (Jin 2015;Thatcher et al 2016;Jin 2017;Cohen 2018;Couldry, Mejias 2018;Kwet 2019).…”

Section: платформы как фактор экономического лидерстваunclassified

The Impact of Digital Technologies on Leadership in Global Processes: from Platforms to Markets?

Данилин

2020

Vestnik MGIMO-universiteta

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Discussions on the impact of digital technologies on national and global processes are rising. Among important issues is the role of large Internet platforms (Facebook, Google, Alibaba, etc.) - key players of the digital markets and in the digital innovations – in producing global leadership / dominance. The article argues, that on the economy side existing USA-China duopoly on the platform markets creates asymmetric advantages for both nations resulting (in future) in unprecedented influence on global processes (up to “digital colonialism”). It is doubtful that potential competitors from third nations may ever destroy this duopoly. Also, the information functions of the platforms are reviewed as resource for global leadership. Noting the evolution of assessments (from techno-optimistic views of platforms as engines of democracy to alarmist views of their role as a “backdoor” for the opponents and adversaries) we accent platform`s growing information impact on the global processes (digital diplomacy, etc.). However, here the USA-PRC duopoly is also actual. Dilemma of alternative solutions to boost the influence of third nations in the new digital, platform economy still may be resolved. Since data is the key resource for the digital markets and platforms, formation of data regulatory regimes appears to be an asymmetric solution. The experience of the EU with its GDPR and other efforts to form new data/digital regimes may serve as a model. Exploiting its` large data market as a competitive factor, the EU may neutralize part of the advantages of stronger actors and orient global platforms towards a more acceptable strategy. However, regulatory practices should be complemented by the development of digital technologies, as well as regional- or national-level platforms. A serious challenge also lies in achieving needed market scale (in order to influence global platforms) and – in the future – in competition of jurisdictions.

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“…Researchers, scholars, commentators and journalists are continuously searching for new analogies, new lenses and metaphors to define, clarify, delimit and map the "data revolution" (Kitchin, 2014) and its scope, impact and "gaze" (Beer, 2019). (See eg, Fairfield, 2017;Feldman, Kenney, & Lissoni, 2015;Kwet, 2018;Lupton, 2015Lupton, , 2018Mayer-Schönberger & Cukier, 2013;Thatcher, O'Sullivan, & Mahmoudi, 2016). Of particular interest for the purposes of this paper, the notions of the "data gaze" and "data frontier" are used by Beer (2019).…”

Section: The Data Imaginarymentioning

confidence: 99%

A social cartography of analytics in education as performative politics

Prinsloo¹

2019

Brit J Educational Tech

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Data—their collection, analysis and use—have always been part of education, used to inform policy, strategy, operations, resource allocation, and, in the past, teaching and learning. Recently, with the emergence of learning analytics, the collection, measurement, analysis and use of student data have become an increasingly important research focus and practice. With (higher) education having access to more student data, greater variety and nuanced/granularity of data, as well as collecting and using real‐time data, it is crucial to consider the data imaginary in higher education, and, specifically, analytics as performative politics. Data and data analyses are often presented as representing “reality” and, as such, are seminal in institutional “truth‐making,” whether in the context of operational or student learning data. In the broader context of critical data studies (CDS), this social cartography examines and maps the “data frontier” and the “data gaze” within the context of the dominant narrative of evidence‐based management and the data imaginary in higher education. Following an analysis of the main assumptions in evidence‐based management and the power of metrics, this paper presents a social cartography of data analytics not only as representational, but as actant, and as performative politics. What is already known about this topic Student data in higher education are increasingly used not only to inform operational and strategic planning, but to inform and shape curricula, pedagogy and student learning. The collection, measurement, analysis and use of student data are informed by a particular data imaginary in service of evidence‐based management. Data and analytics are seen as objective, neutral representations of reality and used as basis for informing policy, operational planning, resource allocation, and, increasingly, learning analytics and student facing dashboards. What this paper adds Critically examines data analytics in higher education as “truth‐making” and never neutral, and always as provisional snapshots of “reality” serving particular, often undeclared, assumptions and interests. Situates learning analytics as the collection, measurement, analysis and use of student data in the broader context of the data imaginary and student data as “data frontier”. Provides evidence that data analytics is not only representational, but, increasingly, performative and political. Implications for practice and/or policy Makes explicit some of the theoretical, political, epistemological and ontological assumptions underpinning and sustaining the data imaginary in higher education. Foregrounds the need for more critical approaches to our expectations, collections, analyses and use of student data. Argues the need for policy and practitioners to recognise the inherent political and performative nature of data and data analysis, and the need for transparency, accountability and care.

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Digital colonialism: US empire and the new imperialism in the Global South

Cited by 295 publications

References 11 publications

To what extent can online mapping be decolonial? A journey throughout Indigenous cartography in Canada

To what extent can online mapping be decolonial? A journey throughout Indigenous cartography in Canada

The Impact of Digital Technologies on Leadership in Global Processes: from Platforms to Markets?

A social cartography of analytics in education as performative politics

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