Article
ID: CBB190620676

The New Technopolitics of Development and the Global South as a Laboratory of Technological Experimentation (September 2017)

unapi
Technology and politics Developing countries Capitalism Technoscience; science and technology studies Technology transfer Experiments and experimentation Economic development Privately sponsored science; philanthropy 21st century Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Science and technology have been integral issues of development cooperation for more than sixty years. Contrary to early efforts’ transfer of established technologies from the West to developing countries, contemporary technology aspirations increasingly articulate and practice the Global South as a live laboratory for technological experimentation. This approach is especially furthered by a group of private foundations and philanthrocapitalists whose endeavors in developing countries are, like their companies, shaped by logics of the individual, the market, and of societal progress through technological innovation and experimentation. This article draws upon critical intellectual thought about the political and social ramifications of technology to reflect on the renascent role of technology in development cooperation. It traces the discourses and practices of philanthrocapitalist organizations, in particular the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, to understand how their experimentalist technology aspirations influence human life and relations in the Global South. This article argues that this newfound focus on technology in development cooperation may challenge the essence of democracy, reduce participation, and have undesirable consequences for populations in the Global South.

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Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB190620676/

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Authors & Contributors
Rayzberg, Margarita S.
Rijcke, Sarah de
Amaeshi, Kenneth
Chen, Jack Yong-Jie
Franssen, Thomas
Michael Truscello
Journals
Science, Technology and Human Values
Comparative Technology Transfer and Society
Tapuya: Latin American Science, Technology and Society
Transfers
Social Studies of Science
Science as Culture
Publishers
MIT Press
University Press of Florida
University of Washington Press
Harvard University Press
Duke University Press
Cambridge University Press
Concepts
Economic development
Technoscience; science and technology studies
Capitalism
Technology transfer
Technological innovation
Technology and politics
Time Periods
21st century
20th century
20th century, late
Places
United States
United Kingdom
Ghana
Kenya
Russia
France
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