Reframing empowerment: a new paradigm for ICT4D

In this essay, we will problematize the situated view of technology that, we argue, is very much diffused in ICT for development (ICT4D), the domain in which our research is inscribed. Our problematization focuses on the idea of empowerment, that in development is regarded, we argue, entirely in terms of participation and content – without, in effect, any real attention for the role of the technology in this process. Hence, drawing on the literature on technology as a social regulator, we will propose a reframed idea of empowerment, which gives the right attention to the technological side of it, in terms of the actual balance of power between technology and its users. E-Krishi, an Internet platform implemented by the government of Kerala, a state in southern India, is proposed here as a case study to see technology-related empowerment in action.