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The mobile phone in India and Nepal: Political economy, politics and society
Jeffrey, Robin; Doron, Assa
This article scans the effects of mobile-phone communication, particularly in South Asia. It focuses on three important areas: political economy, politics and social practices. By 2012 India had more than 900 million telephone subscribers, 96 percent of them on cell phones, and the majority of users were the poor. At the other end of the social scale, the mobile phone provoked bitter struggles among some of India's biggest business houses and branches of government, and was responsible for...[Show more] criminal cases against politicians at the highest level. The essays in this volume are a reminder that technology is anything but neutral. The essays examine the many facets of mobile phone communication and the institutions, agents, mechanisms and networks such communication relies on. The essays contribute to efforts to interpret the effects of this technology and to gain insight into the most important aspect of the mobile phone: the sheer variety of activity (political, social and cultural) on which it impinges.
dc.contributor.author Jeffrey, Robin
dc.contributor.author Doron, Assa
dc.identifier.issn 0030-851X
dc.description.abstract This article scans the effects of mobile-phone communication, particularly in South Asia. It focuses on three important areas: political economy, politics and social practices. By 2012 India had more than 900 million telephone subscribers, 96 percent of them on cell phones, and the majority of users were the poor. At the other end of the social scale, the mobile phone provoked bitter struggles among some of India's biggest business houses and branches of government, and was responsible for criminal cases against politicians at the highest level. The essays in this volume are a reminder that technology is anything but neutral. The essays examine the many facets of mobile phone communication and the institutions, agents, mechanisms and networks such communication relies on. The essays contribute to efforts to interpret the effects of this technology and to gain insight into the most important aspect of the mobile phone: the sheer variety of activity (political, social and cultural) on which it impinges.
dc.publisher UBC Press
dc.source Pacific Affairs
dc.subject Keywords: communication network; governance approach; institutional framework; mobile communication; political economy; social network; telecommunication; India; Nepal Cell phone; Consumption; Political economy; Social networks
dc.title The mobile phone in India and Nepal: Political economy, politics and society
local.identifier.citationvolume 85
local.identifier.absfor 160100 - ANTHROPOLOGY
local.identifier.ariespublication f5625xPUB1350
local.contributor.affiliation Jeffrey, Robin, College of Asia and the Pacific, ANU
local.contributor.affiliation Doron, Assa, College of Asia and the Pacific, ANU
local.bibliographicCitation.issue 3
local.bibliographicCitation.startpage 469
local.bibliographicCitation.lastpage 481
local.identifier.doi 10.5509/2012853469
local.identifier.thomsonID 000308450200001
01_Jeffrey_The_mobile_phone_in_India_and_2012.pdf 2.92 MB Adobe PDF