Datafication, Power and Control in Development: A Historical Perspective on the Perils and Longevity of Data

Katarzyna Cieslik and Dániel Margócsy
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Katarzyna Cieslik: Katarzyna Cieslik is the corresponding author (kc566@cam.ac.uk) and a research associate at the Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, UK.
Dániel Margócsy: Dániel Margócsy is a professor at the Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge, UK.

Progress in Development Studies, 2022, vol. 22, issue 4, 352-373

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.

Keywords: Datafication; big data; data revolution; digital colonialism; Data4Dev (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:prodev:v:22:y:2022:i:4:p:352-373

DOI: 10.1177/14649934221076580

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