Development and emancipation. The information society and decision support systems in local authorities in Egypt
| Date | 02 March 2010 |
| Pages | 85-107 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14779961011024828 |
| Published date | 02 March 2010 |
| Author | Bernd Carsten Stahl,Neil McBride,Ibrahim Elbeltagi |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management |
Development and emancipation
The information society and decision support
systems in local authorities in Egypt
Bernd Carsten Stahl and Neil McBride
De Montfort University, Leicester, UK, and
Ibrahim Elbeltagi
University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the emancipatory promises and realities of
information and communication technology (ICT) in Egypt.
Design/methodology/approach – The combination of Habermasian and Foucauldian ideas
implemented by a critical discourse analysis of the Egyptian Information Society Policy and
interviews with employees of local decision support systems employees. Promises and rhetoric are
contrasted with findings and questioned with regards to their validity.
Findings – On the policy level, analysis shows that the emancipating rhetoric of ICT is not followed
through. ICT is mostly seen as a means of attracting foreign direct investment. Neither political
participation nor educational benefits are promoted seriously. On the local level, culture and
organisational realities prevent individuals from exploiting the emancipatory potential of the
technology.
Originality/value – The combination of the Habermasian and Foucauldian approach exposes the
problems of ICT use in developing countries. It shows that emancipation is used to legitimise ICT
policies but is not taken seriously on a policy level in Egypt. Local implementations also fail to deliver
on their promise. In order to have emancipatory effects, ICT policy and use will need to be
reconsidered.
Keywords Egypt, Communicationtechnologies, Developing countries, Local authorities,
Decision supportsystems
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Governments and international agencies spend huge amounts of money on projects
aimed at promoting the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in
so-called developing countries (Mejias et al., 1999; Montealegre, 1998). The immediate
aim of such investment is typically economic growth (Klenow and Rodrı
´guez-Clare,
1997; Temple, 1998). It is usually recognised, however, that economic growth is no end
in itself. Economic growth is meant to produce employment, create welfare and
improve the lot of all members of society. Its purpose is to allow people to live a fulfilled
life according to their own design. Briefly, the final aim of the promotion of ICT in
developing countries is the emancipation of the members of society.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
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An earlier version of this paper was presented at the International Conference on Human Choice
and Computers (IFIP TC9), 25-27 September, University of Pretoria, South Africa.
Development
and
emancipation
85
Received 30 January 2009
Accepted 14 November 2009
Journal of Information,
Communication & Ethics in Society
Vol. 8 No. 1, 2010
pp. 85-107
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
1477-996X
DOI 10.1108/14779961011024828
This paper sheds doubt on the emancipating effect of ICT. It does so by examining
two major applications, namely the Information Society Policy and the use of decision
support systems on the local level in Egypt. In order to determine whether
empowerment is indeed the aim of ICT use, we look at the accompanying rhetoric and
assumptions. These are contrasted with social reality on the national level of the
Information Society Policy and on the local level of the organisational use of decision
support systems (DSS). We present evidence on the macro and on the micro level that
ICT does not have the promised emancipatory effects. Instead, ICT is often actively
disempowering. This discrepancy of message and reality is no coincidence. We argue
that the disempowering faculties of ICT lie at the heart of the design, plan and use of
the technology.
In order to support these theses we have based this piece of critical research on the
theories of two dominant critical theorists, Ju
¨rgen Habermas and Michel Foucault.
After briefly introducing their respective theoretical standpoints we will develop our
methodologies based on their ideas. We will use a Habermasian framework to
undertake a critical discourse analysis (CDA) on the macro level of the Egyptian
Information Society Policy. This will be complemented by a Foucault-inspired
investigation of the organisational practice of using DSS in local authorities. We will
use these approaches to focus on two important areas of possible emancipation:
democratic participation and education. The result of our empirical findings will be
that in both areas ICT has disempowering effects which are known to the agents
involved and arguably intended from the outset. The paper will end with a reflection of
the findings and the methods and approaches employed.
2. Critical research
Critical research is an established research approach, sometimes described as an
alternative to positivist and interpretive research (Chua, 1986; Orlikowski and Baroudi,
1991). We suggest a definition of critical research according to critical intention to
change social reality and promote emancipation.
2.1 Critical intention: emancipation
The term “critical research” usually stands for research that is grounded on the
assumption that society can and should be improved (Jermier and Forbes, 2003). At the
basis of this assumption one can find Marx’s view of history as a series of class
struggles (Marx, 1969) and a corresponding conflictual view of society (Hirsch heim and
Klein, 1989).
Critical researchers do not simply accept the status quo as the best possible world;
they want to know what is “wrong with the world rather than what is right” (Walsham,
2005, p. 112). They aim to open up discursive closure, to facilitate new descriptions and
to initiate new discourses (Alvesson and Deetz, 2000). Critical research wants to
challenge accepted realities and promote resistance. It cannot be comfortable; it
disturbs the quiet and challenges established authorities.
The way social reality is to be changed by critical research is to promote
emancipation (Alvesson and Willmott, 1992b; Hirschheim and Klein, 1994;
Ngwenyama and Lee, 1997; Ulrich, 2001; Cecez-Kecmanovic et al., 2002; Varey et al.,
2002; McAulay et al., 2002). The idea of emancipation is to “help eliminate the causes of
unwarranted alienation and domination and thereby enhance the opportunities for
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