ICTs in conflict settings discussed, with reference to LIRNEasia study among others


Posted on July 30, 2008  /  0 Comments

Sri Lanka has been enmeshed in conflict for the past 30 years, with just a brief respite during the ceasefire of 2002-05. The LIRNEasia study that is referred to in this post, was conducted in the government controlled areas of the Jaffna district just before the ceasefire ended, de facto. The war still goes on; the phone lines keep being switched off; people are being asked to carry receipts for their SIMs in addition to identity papers. Perhaps this discussion can be taken forward with some good outcomes?

ICT infrastructure in conflict zones | L I R N E . N E T

“One is that the lure of high demand and profits may be sufficient to pull investors through the obstacles posed by bad governance (though some diaspora investors might also have been motivated by service-provision and nationalist purposes). The second is that, as with lack of security, lack of governance may create a premium for information and hence an investment premium for the tools – such as mobile phones – that handle information. The third hypothesis is that “governance” presents more of a barrier to ICT investors than is normally supposed.”

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