n Communicatio : South African Journal of Communication Theory and Research - Discourse and reality in international information society policy : the dominant scenario and its application in the developing world : policy : research article

Abstract

Since the early 1990s the concept of the information society has taken centre stage on the political agendas of several national governments in the North and South, as well as regional and international institutions, donor organisations and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). This article first sets out to analyse and describe both the content of, and the evolution in, this policy discourse. It attempts to assess the validity of this discourse in light of the current changes at the global level and in the light of the problems associated with the practical implementation of policy in a developmental context. By so doing, it questions the basic - and overly simplistic - assumptions of the dominant scenario.