The Political Economy of Mobile Telephony in South Africa: MTN, Vodacom, and the Economics of South African Foreign Policy

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Telecommunications are an essential part of the global political economy, and the private telecommunications sector is driving much of the transformation across Africa. Yet the regulatory frameworks governing the relationships between African governments and these corporations remain hazy. Focusing on South Africas flagship mobile network operators (MNOs), MTN and Vodacom, Embedded provides unique insights into this thin boundary between corporatism and many African states global relationships. Drawing on rich archival research, company data, and reports from the South African parliament and Department of International Relations and Cooperation, Odilile uncovers how information and communications technology (ICT) companies have taken advantage of epoch-shifting periods in South Africas history, from the end of the Cold War to the end of Apartheid. In so doing, she sheds new light on the wider issues of the politics of the multinational corporation, of foreign investment, and of state-corporation relations across Africa and beyond. For its original data and unique, timely critical interventions, this book is essential reading for students and researchers in African studies, international development, and the wider role of telecommunications corporations in the international political economy.

Author Bio

Odilile Ayodele is a Senior Researcher at the Institute for Pan-African Thought and Conversation (IPATC) at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. Her research focuses on the international relations of technology and digital diplomacy in Africa.