Tracing the Roots of Technopolitics: Towards a North-South Dialogue

Abstract

The concept of technopolitics has been increasingly employed to interpret the contemporary uses of communication technologies by social movements and civil society organizations. This chapter tackles the historical and theoretical roots of the notion, by critically examining contributions from different disciplines, regions and strands of literature. First, the chapter outlines the use of technopolitics within technology transfer and scientific innovation, and charts its adoption in studies regarding media and the political sphere. Then, it explores its rediscovery and application at the intersection between the appropriations of Spanish activists and academics, and scrutinizes its extension to Latin America. Next, it examines five key potentialities of the concept, as well as its connections with other recent theorizations, especially derived from Anglo-Saxon scholarship. The chapter concludes by proposing further dialogue between Northern and Southern research communities, as a way to generate more nuanced understandings of everyday activist practices, action research, and socio-political change.