Dr Katarzyna Cieslik katarzyna.cieslik@durham.ac.uk
Lecturer in Human Geography
Datafication, Power and Control in Development: A Historical Perspective on the Perils and Longevity of Data
Cieslik, Katarzyna; Margócsy, Dániel
Authors
Dániel Margócsy
Abstract
The collection, processing, storage and circulation of data are fundamental element of contemporary societies. While the positivistic literature on ‘data revolution’ finds it essential for improving development delivery, critical data studies stress the threats of datafication. In this article, we demonstrate that datafication has been happening continuously through history, driven by political and economic pressures. We use historical examples to show how resource and personal data were extracted, accumulated and commodified by colonial empires, national governments and trade organizations, and argue that similar extractive processes are a present-day threat in the Global South. We argue that the decoupling of earlier and current datafication processes obscures the underlying, complex power dynamics of datafication. Our historical perspective shows how, once aggregated, data may become imperishable and can be appropriated for problematic purposes in the long run by both public and private entities. Using historical case studies, we challenge the current regulatory approaches that view data as a commodity and frame it instead as a mobile, non-perishable, yet ideally inalienable right of people.
Citation
Cieslik, K., & Margócsy, D. (2022). Datafication, Power and Control in Development: A Historical Perspective on the Perils and Longevity of Data. Progress in Development Studies, https://doi.org/10.1177/14649934221076580
Journal Article Type | Article |
---|---|
Online Publication Date | Feb 25, 2022 |
Publication Date | 2022 |
Deposit Date | Mar 16, 2022 |
Publicly Available Date | May 9, 2022 |
Journal | Progress in Development Studies |
Print ISSN | 1464-9934 |
Electronic ISSN | 1477-027X |
Publisher | SAGE Publications |
Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1177/14649934221076580 |
Related Public URLs | https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/14649934221076580 |
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Copyright Statement
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
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