Disjunctures and Connections: Case Studies of How Techno-politics Make and Cut Networks

Drawing on case study material, this paper focuses on ways in which definitions of ‘media’ and other technical objects act to promote or prevent ‘connection’. In a development context, the ways in which new media objects such as ICTs are defined in relation to other objects, people and institutions map out new figurations of power and connection, or new ‘technological zones’ (Barry), that revalue and recombine political agency. Consideration of the politics of technology needs to be moved away from seeing ICTs as neutral tools to be enabled or as problematic interventions to be contained; rather, we need to be able to make visible and negotiable the possible communicative assemblages that might be produced.

About the series

This seminar series gathers leading scholars and practitioners to reflect on the influence of new communication technologies on development processes. The seminars will focus on the dramatic changes in citizens’ ability to coordinate and mobilize for political action, on global migration and its relation to digital media, and on how international and national actors are seeking to shape the applications of technology and communication. The series provides a focus point for academics and non-academics in Oxford who are interested in the challenges and opportunities of employing new communication technologies in development contexts. The series was organized by the Oxford Internet Institute (OII) and the Programme in Comparative Media Law and Policy (PCMLP) at the University of Oxford, co-convened by Dr Iginio Gagliardone and Dr Mark Graham.