A Turn to Latin America: Improving Theory Development in the ICT4D Literature

We argue that study of Latin America, largely absent from the current English-language information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D) literature, poses the literature’s best promise for addressing its biggest shortfall: a dearth of theory. Studies based in Latin America can address this shortfall in theory by adopting the lens of political economy, which brings the region’s political, social, and cultural factors into sharp relief. These political, social, and cultural factors are exactly what ICT4D studies must examine if they are to build predictive theory of project success. We document the absence of Latin American studies in the ICT4D literature, pose possible explanations for this absence, detail why Latin America holds promise for addressing the literature’s theoretical problems, and outline tasks for future research to reap this promise.