Description
Digital coloniality is a looming concern in the compressed world of today, precipitating a complex array of disjuncture and difference. As a neoliberal enterprise, globalisation of technology has disproportionately affected the population of Least Developed Countries (LDCs), including the Black, Indigenous and the women in terms of innovation, inclusion, reliability, and reach. In the wake of the centralised vertical flow of information technologies, the spectre of technocratic imperialism is considerably unfurling. Further, with respect to the contested sphere of internet governance, developing countries often prioritise their concerns related to information protection, cultural autonomy, and national security. They also underscore the fact that the economy of Internet is increasingly dominated by the giant Western telecom companies and private corporations, which has consequently led to an inequitable sharing of the economic benefits of the Internet. It is evident that over the years, the global internet governance regime has become more complex and chaotic, especially due to its prejudicial scope, where the corporate interests of Global North are predominantly favoured at the cost of the legitimate concerns of the Global South.
Amidst this technical slugfest, the critical IR perspective holds relevance. From the standpoint of critical IR theory, the implicit problem in cultivating a reasonable communication flow emanates from biased material and ideological forces, which gradually misconstrues the process of ‘discursive reflection’ that is progressively emancipatory in nature. Hence, the communicative practices should be embraced in a manner, facilitating critical reflection to unveil the distortions and catapulting rational normative actions to liberate the actors from techno-political predicament. In this regard, the study is to be problematised in the wake of cross-sectional intersubjective understanding and substantive normative theorisation, with the contextual analysis at its core. Significantly, the study intends to adopt a mixed method and qualitative approach, based on a detailed contemporary analysis.
Keywords: Digital coloniality, globalisation, internet governance, technology
