Information Technologies, Advocacy, and Development: Resistance and Backlash to Industrial Shrimp Farming
Susan C. Stonich · Cartography and Geographic Information Systems · 1998
While the overwhelming belief is that advanced information and communication technologies (ICT) will profoundly influence society, experts differ significantly about whether these impacts will be positive or negative. Current discussions of ICT frequently embody either optimistic or pessimistic predictions. These debates are not very helpful, however, in designing policies, programs, and projects that are intended to realize the development or the democratizing potential of these technologies—especially when applied in the developing world. Empirical evidence suggests that both positive and negative impacts occur—depending on diverse points of view, the potential for particular stakeholders or social interest groups to take advantage of the technologies, the scale or level of analysis at which impacts are evaluated, the political economic context, etc. This paper accepts this ambiguity. It uses the recent globalization of resistance to industrial shrimp farming and associated industry response to empirically examine the relationship between society and ICTs in the developing world, both in terms of how society shapes technology and conversely how technology affects society. Based on ethnographic and survey research, it integrates several areas of study: resistance to the expansion of global capital; the formation of a significant global political arena associated with human and environmental issues; and the role of ICT in achieving social goals. Especially of interest are the links between ICTs, political and public advocacy, and participatory development.