John Campbell

Africa in Transition

Campbell tracks political and security developments across sub-Saharan Africa.

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Showing posts for "ICT"

Guest Post: ICT, Africa, and the 90/10 Rule

by Guest Blogger for John Campbell
A technician repairs cell phones in his store in Khartoum December 21, 2011. (Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/Courtesy Reuters) A technician repairs cell phones in his store in Khartoum December 21, 2011. (Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/Courtesy Reuters)

Asch Harwood is the Africa program research associate at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Last week, SAIS hosted a conference on information and communication technology (ICT) and political participation in Africa. Participants explored the potential of ICT to improve governance in Africa by promoting dissent, organizing opposition, enabling large groups to express shared concerns, and reducing communication transaction costs; as well as improving government effectiveness by streamlining administrative functions (bureaucratic listservs or mobile courts for example), opening channels of communication with constituents, and improving service delivery. Read more »

Guest Post: Is Boko Haram Middle Class?

by Guest Blogger for John Campbell
A view of the scene of a bomb blast is seen in Nigeria's northern city of Kaduna April 8, 2012. (Stringer/Courtesy Reuters) A view of the scene of a bomb blast is seen in Nigeria's northern city of Kaduna April 8, 2012. (Stringer/Courtesy Reuters)

This is a guest post by Jim Sanders, a career, now retired, West Africa watcher for various federal agencies. The views expressed below are his personal views and do not reflect those of his former employers.

In his informative Financial Times piece, “BlackBerrys flourish in the malls of Lagos,” Xan Rice focuses mainly on blackberry manufacturer Research In Motion, the firm’s market outlook for Nigeria, and about what this tells us about Nigeria’s emerging middle class. Read more »