An Internet for the Global South

Abstract

This chapter examines the “regimes of alliances” between a variety of organizations that were formed to enable technological access points to the Internet in Central American. The chapter discusses how organizations such as National Science Foundation, the Organization of American States, and the United Nations Development Program mobilized their political leverage to promote the connection to the Internet in the region. The chapter thus highlights the centrality of international organizations in how Central America connected to the network. The role of these organizations is summarized in three major ways: (a) articulating networks of collaborations between actors of different nature and origin; (b) obtaining and distributing funds to establish Internet access points; and (c) negotiating with governments and state telecom operators to endow networking initiatives with political traction.