2012 Articles

Making Slums Governable: Integration and Resistance in a Nairobi Slum

Graesholm, Emil

"This study first reviews existing literature on the impact of mobile phones on governance and participation, highlighting limitations of the current literature. It then details the methodology used in field research. The recent political history of Kenya, and ICT developments, are explored, and the Kibera slum is introduced in greater detail. The study then discusses the dynamics of mobile phone usage in Kibera in relation to policies and projects of the formal governance network and introduces arguments by James Scott concerning state optics and state-society relations, which provide valuable tools in understanding ICT usage in Kibera. Finally, the paper presents implications for the formal governance network resulting from the politics of ICT adoption in marginalized communities."--from page 221