Digital development

In this dissertation I investigate the following puzzle. Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda are geographically close, economically similar, and interact extensively both economically and politically. Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania all share a similar colonial history. Despite these similarities, the countries diverge with regard to the distribution of ICT infrastructure and artifacts, as well as the process by which the policies are formulated. Rwanda and Uganda, two geographically isolated, resource-poor countries with recent histories of brutal civil war, demonstrate much stronger government involvement in ICT policy, and faster progress towards objective outcomes in ICT policy implementation than their more democratic and more stable neighbors, Kenya and Tanzania. This dissertation uses the comparative case study method. Observations were made at the nation-state level in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania from the period of 2003 to 2009. A close examination of these four cases indicates that autocracies may be forced to distribute resources more broadly than one would predict based on regime type. Further, democracies may be less concerned about equity and fairness than one would predict. The way in which governance influences technological configuration and diffusion of a new innovation is the result of the precise historical institutional configuration in each country.