Faisal's Notebook

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Analyzing the Digital Divide through the Lens of Liberalism

Sep 23, 202414 min read

Sources

  1. Helen V. Milner, Princeton University, “The Digital Divide: The Role of Political Institutions in Technology Diffusion” - 2006-03
  2. Sophie Lythreatis, Sanjay Kumar Singh, Abdul-Nasser El-Kassar, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, “The digital divide: A review and future research agenda” - 2022-02
  3. Jan A. G. M. Van Dijk, University of Twente, “Digital Divide: Impact of Access” - 2017
    1. Alt link: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118783764.wbieme0043
  4. The United Nations, “Widening Digital Gap between Developed, Developing States Threatening to Exclude World’s Poorest from Next Industrial Revolution, Speakers Tell Second Committee” - 2023-10-06
  5. Philippine Institute for Developmental Studies, “Bridging digital divide: PIDS study reveals path to universal broadband in PH” - 2024-01-30
  6. National Telecommunications and Information Administration, “Broadband Technology Opportunities Program” - 2020, Accessed 2024-12-01
  7. Tom Wheeler, Federal Communications Commission, “Closing the Digital Divide in Rural America” - 2014-11-20
  8. Luísa Nazareno, Justina Jose, SSRN, “The Effects of Broadband Deployment in Rural Areas: Evaluating the Connect America Fund Program” - 2021-08-02

What is the Digital Divide, Internet, Etc.

Milner 2006

  • The disparity in information resources across countries, wherein industrialized economies are transitioning into a greater dependence and access to sophisticated information technologies, while the others lag behind.
  • The internet is a new low cost communication technology that can have a wide political impact.

Lythreatis et al. 2022

  • It is the gap between those who who have poor or no access to Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) and those who have enough access to ICTs.

van Dijk 2017

  • The gap between people who do and do not have access to information and communication technologies.
  • Examples of ICTs are computers, the Internet, smartphones, and other digital hardware and software.

Why is the Digital Divide Important

Milner 2006

  • It contributes to widening the gap between the wealthier nations and less well-off nations because it provides some nations new sources of wealth and political and diplomatic power.
  • Many scholars believe that technological change is a large driver for economic growth. Hence, it is important for countries to consider the factors that influence their adoption rate of new technology.
  • The West’s rapid adoption of innovation allows them to grow much faster than poorer countries, thus, also widening the gap between rich and poor countries.

Lythreatis et al. 2022

  • It can worsen inequalities because it can restrict or improve a citizen’s social and economic capital and their capacity to participate in society.
  • The ongoing digital revolution is not equally distributed, and, as such, produces social inequalities.
  • It can be a cause for poverty.
  • Understanding the digital divide leads to the identification of relevant technological needs, therefore, producing more appropriate frameworks and policies for diminishing some inequalities.
  • ICTs heavily influences the people’s access to crucial information needed to meaningfully be involved in the economy; consequently, it is connected to opportunities in education, training, and employability.
  • The pandemic forced people to take an exceptional digital leap in their daily lives.

van Dijk, 2017

  • A survey in Netherlands exploring the correlation between societal participation and ICT access reveal that
    • Economically, some people have found jobs using the Internet, and others have spent less in buying and selling products.
    • Socially, people were able to meet new people/friends online, then meet with them in person later. Others were also able to join associations through the internet.
    • Politically, people were able to discover a political party that they want to vote for and also opinions that were not present in traditional media.
    • Culturally, people were able to gain educational and entertainment resources.
    • Institutionally, people were able to discover their disease and recommended hospitals.

Contemporary Context

Global

Lythreatis et al. 2022

  • The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the importance of the addressing the digital divide: countless numbers of people were forced to work, study, access services, and socialize from home; people who could not do so, suffered from the disadvantages introduced by the digital divide (e.g., exclusion).

The United Nations, 2023

  • Although 63% of the world population is connected to the internet, Angel Gonzales Sanz—Head of Science, Technology and Innovation in the Division on Technology and Logistics of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)—states that only 27% of the least developed countries are internet users. For this reason, he argues that a risks emerges in which the data economy will be permanently dominated by a few stakeholders from a small number of technologically advanced economies.
  • The António Guterres-The United Nation’s Secretary General—states that the digital divide restricts people’s access to the benefits of technologies, thereby exacerbating the social divide.
  • Most speakers at the Seventy-Eigth United Nation Session felt that new technologies are widening the gap and can permanently exclude the world’s poorest countries from the fourth industrial evolution.
    • The UN representative of Nepal stressed that digital technologies can bridge the gap between educational and economic inequalities.

National

Philippine Institute for Developmental Studies, 2024

  • Despite the progress in narrowing the digital gap, the rural areas in the Philippines continue to struggle from the disparities in access and affordability of ICTs.
  • A study by the PIDS titled Making Broadband Universal: A Review of Philippine Policies and Strategies reveals the following information:
    • Even if mobile data in the country has meaningfully become more affordable, the mobile network performance (in terms of speed) still lags behind ASEAN counterparts. Moreover, the 2022 Global System for Mobile Communications Mobile Association (GSMA) Connectivity Index reports that the country is the third ranking lowest in terms of mobile affordability, scoring only 47.01 out of 100. For this reason, it hinders the Philippines’ progress to widespread internet adoption.
    • Even with the 99% 4G coverage in the country, only 70% have access to 5G.
    • The mobile broadband speed in the country also lags behind: Ookla reports in 2023 that Philippines have had only an average of 6.21 Mbps broadband upload speed and 25.47 Mbps broadband download speed, which pales in comparison to Singapore’s 81.41 Mbps download speed.
  • The lack of electricity in some areas in the country also prevents some Filipinos from utilizing ICTs and accessing fixed broadband networks.

Domestic Policies of Non-ASEAN Countries Addressing the Digital Divide

United States

NTIA, 2020

  • The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)—an agency of the United States Department of Commerce—launched a program referred to as the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) to domestically bridge the digital divide.
    • Their tasks involves deploying broadband Internet infrastructure, improving and widening public computer centers, and fostering the sustainable adoption of broadband service.
  • The NTIA funded 233 BOTP projects in 2010; however, only two projects remain active as of 30 June 2020. This is because the other projects have accomplished their objectives.
  • Analyzing their reports and conducting research, the NTIA gathered the following observations:
    • 4 out of 5 US citizens are connected to the internet as of November 2019.
    • Every dollar invested in broadband returns nearly 4 USD to their economy.
    • 71% of the children of low-income subscribers to discounted broadband service are reported to use the Internet for homework; in contrast, only 51% of the children of non-subscribers use the Internet for homework.

Wheeler, 2014

  • In 2014, it was reported that Americans living in urban areas are three times likely to have access to Next Generation broadband, whereas approximately 15 million Americans (mostly in rural communities) have no access to entry-level broadband. Moreover, 41% of the rural schools in the country lack access to a fast fiber connection.
  • Although FCC’s E-rate program attempted to close the digital divide present in rural schools in 1997, the high price for decent Internet speed led to its failure in delivering the bandwidth needed for learning in the 21st century.
  • After reflecting on the 1997 E-rate program, FCC proposed an update in July to account for inflation, thereby increasing the funding to provide affordable high-speed Internet connection to rural areas.
  • They also plan to carry out and implement an incentive auction of low-band spectrum so that they can strengthen the rural wireless broadband network coverage.

Nazareno & Jose, 2021

  • The Connect America Fund (CAF) is a program sponsored by the Federal US Government that aims to deploy broadband to unserved rural areas in the country. Its largest component is the Phase-II, wherein companies are incentivized to supply their services to unserved or underserved areas.
  • A study on their impact reveals positive effects on the employment rates for areas that were treated: there was an increase in average employment rates of 0.46 and 0.42 percentage points in 2016 and 2017. Nonetheless, in 2015, it was also discovered that the benefits were statistically and positively significant in the Midwest, while it was negative in the South and Northeast, and insignificant in the West.
  • The study, however, found that the program had no significant effect on other related socio-economic variables, such as migration, per capita income, and labor force participation.

South Korea

Open Government Partnership, 2021

  • The Republic of Korea seeks to prevent the possibility of worsening the social and economic inequality and discrimination by narrowing the gap in accessibility and utilization pertaining to intelligent information technology in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
  • In the face of digital transformation, South Korea plans to transition their society from collecting information to utilizing the available digital technologies for economic activity.
  • The Republic of Korea Action Plan 2021-2023 is committed to 3 key goals:
    1. Enhancing the digital capabilities of the entire nation
      • Currently, some government institutions are providing information technology education to groups like the elderly, disabled, and multicultural families; however, the number of people taking the educational programs considerably fall behind the number of people eligible for it (in other words, there is an accessibility issue occurring).
      • For this reason, the government of Korea plans to extend their offline digital education by taking advantage of existing residential infrastructure. Furthermore, they will create and offer digital skills tests to their citizens and create a platform for teaching digital skills based on different levels and situations.
    2. Fostering an inclusive digital user environment
      • Currently, the South Korean government is supporting nationwide affordable high-speed internet, but, nonetheless, a gap in terms of digital ownership still exists depending on the class of the citizens.
      • To address this issue the government will take 2 approaches:
        1. An high-speed internet infrastructure will be built in more than 1,300 rural areas and public Wi-Fi services will be expanded to alleviate the digital divide present between cities and rural areas.
        2. Subsidies will be provided for vulnerable classes to ensure the satisfaction of the minimum requirements for technology adoption.
    3. Laying the foundation for digital inclusion
      • Currently, the private sector are actively promoting digital inclusion activities. Nevertheless, the government still needs to leverage this and develop an implementation system for policies and projects that ensures bridging the digital divide.
      • With this in mind, the government plans to establish a digital inclusion coalition by which citizens and businesses can participate and contribute in forming relevant policies and systems. Moreover, the government will enact a law that forms an implementation system for digital inclusion policies and projects. Lastly, laws and systems that lead to the discrimination and exclusion of the vulnerable (in terms of digital access) will be identified and addressed.

Scrapped

Sources

  1. Shannon L. Blanton, Charles W. Kegley, “World Politics: Trend and Transformation” - 2024-02-12
  2. Liu Jia, Gao Shuang, China Daily, “Digital Silk Road to span Eurasia” - 2015-07-10
  3. Jovan Kurbalija, Diplomacy, “The impact of big data on geopolitics, negotiations, and diplomacy” - 2024-04-10
  4. Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, “Promotion of International Geneva and digital self-determination – Federal Council sets out Digital Foreign Policy Strategy 2021–2024” - 04-11-2020
  5. Antony J. Blinken, U.S. Department of State, “Technology and the Transformation of U.S. Foreign Policy” - 2024-05-06
  6. Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, “France’s International Digital Strategy” - Accessed on 2024-09-23
  7. Jovan Kurbalija, Katharina Höne, “The Era of Digital Foreign Policy: Comprehensive Approaches to Digitalisation” - 2023-12-21

Key Traits of Liberalism

  • Is founded on the idea that applying universal ethics to world politics can result in cooperation and order in the world.
    • Human unity is more important than national loyalty
    • Their beliefs is centered on the idea that humans have the capacity to reason and progress is possible; it results to peace and prosperity when achieved.
    • Liberalism’s main issue in world politics is finding a consensus on ethics and mutual benefits
  • They believe that we ought to treat people as ends and not only as means (See Principle of Ends)
  • Liberals emphasize ethical principles over power (See the Categorical Imperative)
  • Assumes that warfare arise due to living conditions rather than the desire for power
    • In contrast to realism, liberal culture and democratic states promotes diplomacy over military force. They believe that because people would not want to live under the conditions of war, they would rather peacefully resolve it through negotiations.
    • Politics is not viewed as zero-sum because international disputes are not resolved through coercion, rather persuasion
  • Views international politics as an extension of domestic politics
  • Disputes between democratic nations rarely escalate to war because each side respects their legitimacy and expect a peaceful resolution. Moreover, the transparent nature of democratic governments allow everyone to examine its inner workings, and, as such, make it hard to demonize.
  • Emphasizes free-trade, and believe that commerce can reduce international conflict because states are connected by commerce
    • Some studies suggest that economic interconnectedness have a greater influence in fostering peace than democracy. This is founded on the following propositions
      • War prevents commerce and reduces profits; therefore, it is avoided.
      • Transnational business elites are powerful and interested in resolving conflicts to promote their profits
      • web of trade encourages communication and minimizes national selfishness
  • Liberals recommend replacing balance of power politics because it promotes threats to peace—something that is a threat for everyone.
  • They believe that the future global society will be composed of actors that realize the cost of conflict and thus their interests are achieved through international institutions that mediate their disputes.

Concepts and Terminologies

  • _Diplomacy* pertains to the negotiation between global actors that seeks a cooperative solution
  • Zero-sum an exchange in which one party wins and another loses (no in-between).

International Efforts to Address the Digital Divide

Focus
  • China and the European Union are working together to promote digitalization and cyber development in their countries. According to Lu, there were 800 million people unconnected to the internet in Europe and China, and, as such, both countries will help each other to address it (as cited in Jia and Shuang, 2015).
  • Switzerland aims to strengthen cooperation forums, contribute to the fight against cyber/digital threats, give users more control over their own data, improved and use digitalization to promote international cooperation (Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, 2020)
  • US aims to achieve digital solidarity by advancing global digital norms, expanding educational opportunities, and harnessing ai for the good of humanity
    • they plan to invest in infrastructure that connects every nation, partnering with japan, new zealand, and taiwan (up to 100k people in the pacific islands). something similar is done to south america, africa, indo pacific
  • France aims to define principles for digital technology and promotes universal access to different digital technologies (Kubalija, Hone, Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, 2023)
Goal
  • Increased internet access
  • increased cyber security
  • digital self-determination
Key Idea
  • Data shapes the economy because it affects the environment where diplomats operate (Kurbalija, 2024). They are now central for economic growth
    • For example, damage to cables that lead to the internet disconnection of a country can have considerable economic and political ramifications
    • Businesses are shifting towards using digital services and business models.
    • The economy’s stability is highly influenced by the condition of data flows, as we progress towards a more data-driven geopolitics and geo-economics
  • Data introduce new topics and tools for diplomacy (Kurbalija, 2024)
    • The introduction of new forms of data (e.g., web-data, big data, crowd-sourced data, etc.) leads to more opportunities for diplomatic activities
  • Cyber security and human rights (key aspect of liberalism)
  • Digital technologies are driving developments in fields of medicine, security, manufacturing, and etc. (Blinken, 2024)
  • Applying universal ethics that foster order and unity

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