The Promiscuity of Freedom: Development and Governance in the Age of Neoliberal Networks //by// Anita Say Chan S.M. Comparative Media Studies • Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2002 B.A. Journalism & Women's Studies New York University, 1998 MA TECHNOLOGY SEP 0 9 2008 //Submitted to // LIBRARIES The Program in Science, Technology, and Soc LIBRARIES in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History, Anthropology, and Science, Technology, and Society at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. September 2008 © 2008 Anita Say Chan. All rights reserved. The author hereby grants to MIT permission to reproduce and distribute publicly paper and electronic copies of this dissertation in whole or in part in any medium now known or hereafter created. Signature of Author: History, Anthli logy, and Science, TIecnnoiogy, and Society July 2 5 th, 2008 Certified by: /. Sherry Turkle Abby Rockefeller Mauze 4rofessor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology Dissertation Supervisor Certified by:_ QJ Joseph Dumit Director, Scjence & Technology Studies University of California Davis / / 7 Thesis Committee Member Certified by: Certified Susan Silbey Leon and Anne Goldberg Professor of Humanities, Department of Anthropology Thesis Committee Member DEWEY1V Promiscuity of Freedom Accepted by : / Stefan Helmreich Associate Professor Director of Graduate Studiesyq try, Anthropology and STS Accepted by :__ S-v v David A. Mindell Dibner Professor of the History of Engineering and Manufacturing Professor of Engineering Systems Director, Program in Science, Technology, and Society Promiscuity of Freedom The Promiscuity of Freedom: Development and Governance in the Age of Neoliberal Networks by Anita Say Chan // Submitted to // The Program in the History, Anthropology, and Science, Technology, and Society at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on July 2 5 th, 2008 in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Science, Technology, and Society. Abstract This study brings together science and technology studies, political anthropology, and Latin American studies, by studying the practices and political reasoning of neoliberal networks in Peru. It analyses the extension of such networks by studying the relationships and subjectivities cultivated under two contemporary state-led projects: an initiative promoting intellectual property rights among traditional artisans as tools for rural development, and a national effort to encourage the uptake of free/libre and open source software based resources. Promising to modernize government and prepare citizens for the global, information-based economy, these projects frame their reforms as new, contemporary models for economic development. This work demonstrate how key to the success of such projects is the remaking of rural and urban citizens into "free" and modern individuals who are able to independently self-realize using the tools and logics of information networks. It argues that such plans rely on the ability to bring diverse actors - including state planners, transnational corporations, traditional artisans, rural communities, urban technology experts, and transnational activists -- into strategic alliance, or what can become coded as relations of promiscuity. What brings these partnerships together and seduces such disparate actors into alliance isn't so much the promise of increased technology access. It is instead the promise of "freedom" and the opportunity for diversely situated subjects to realize themselves as "modern individuals." Thesis Supervisor: Sherry Turkle Title: Abby Rockefeller Mauze Professor of the Social Studies of Science & Technology Promiscuity of Freedom // Acknowledgments // This work would not have been possible without its own network of actors whose work imparted innumerable invaluable lessons, and whose words and activities never ceased to serve as unfailing guides. If this study has been able to illuminate a thing or two about the power of networks in the contemporary age, it is a credit to the individual strengths they channeled, and the countless quiet wisdoms they graced me with. I am indebted to the many artisans of Peru, and of Chulucanas especially - in particular, Gerasimo Sosa, Santodio Paz, Cesar Juarez, Flavio Sosa, Alex Calle, Juana Sosa, Jose Sosa, Luis Salas, Segundo Carmen, and Yuri Padilla. They opened the doors of their homes and workshops to me, and over bowls of caldo or cupfuls of clarito, shared their stories and their art. It was my tremendous honor and pleasure to be in their company, and to have been able to witness them work through a craft that has survived thousands of years, and that continues on in their hands. To the many artisans and organizers who have worked with the National Network for the Artisan's Law (RENAPLA) -- and to Victor Zevallos, Walter Leon, and German Guillen in particular - who continue to dedicate their work so that that of traditional craftsmen in Peru may live on, I am tremendously indebted. And my heartfelt thanks goes out to the residents and people of Chulucanas, and the nearby villages of La Encantada and Yacara who welcomed my stay, shared their town, their trade, and their homes, and were never anything buy patient with the persistent questions my curiosity provoked. My gratitude goes out the government officials and employees of Ministry of Tourism and Trade (MINCETUR) and the National Institute for the Defense of Competition and the Protection of Intellectual Property INDECOPI who allowed me to document their development projects in rural Peru, and even allowed me to travel in their company as they shuttled between Lima's capital and rural provinces located hundreds of miles away. I am particularly grateful to Madeline Burns and Luis Calderon, their staffs at MINCETUR; and to Luiggi Castillo and July Castillo and their staff at the MINCETUR- managed non-profit CITE Ceramicas based in Chulucanas. That they granted an independent researcher access to their offices and personnel in the process is a credit to them, and speaks of an unwaning commitment to rural development that can by no means be taken for granted among all state officials. My gratitude is likewise extended to Miguel Angle Sanchez de Solar and the past and present staff of INDECOPI, including Juan Rodriguez, Ray Meloni, Martin Moscoso, and Jose Tavera, Teresa Mera, and Nancy Matos. Thanks need also be extended to the Jose Lecanos and Amancio Yamunaque at the Instituto Nacional de Cultura. A special thanks need also be extended to Santiago Roca, whose work and dedication as the director of INDECOPI continues to inspire. The many independent technical consultants who collaborated with INDECOPI and MINCETUR, lent their technical expertise, and volunteered their efforts toward these development projects, should also be acknowledged: Luis Cueva, Claudia Fernandini, Promiscuity of Freedom Carmen Arana, Sonia Cespedes, Manuel Eguiguren, Augusto Mello, and Jos6 Dario Gutierrez foremost among them. I am especially grateful to the enormous intellectual generosity of Josefa Nolte, whose conversations on, and professional experience with artisanal crafts in Latin America lent countless insights that I will continually return to. This work would not have been possible either without the invaluable work and contributions of the many activists, organizers, and programmers working through Peru's Free/Libre and Open Source Software Community. I am thankful to Katitza Rodriguez, Pedro Mendizabal, and Katherine Cieza of Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility-Peru (CPSR-Peru), who lent their expertise and many a lively debate, even into the late hours of the night, on information technology and development in Peru. The friendship and support of members of the Peruvian Association of Free Software (APESOL), LinuxChix Peru, the Peruvian Linux Users Group, and Argentina's Free Path Foundation should also be mentioned: foremost among them Carlos Horna, Cesar Villegas, Ernesto Quinones, Silvia Sugasti, Crhistian Peralta, Carlos Wertheman, Antonio Ognio, Jesus Marquina, Fernando Gutierrez, Federico Heinz and Enrique Chaparro. I am enormously indebted to my committee members, Joseph Dumit, Sherry Turkle, and Susan Silbey. Their intellectual generosity, sage guidance, and unflagging support were extraordinary gifts that I will carry with me; and I can only hope to pass on such an inheritance with the same tireless, ready flair that they did. My deep gratitude is also extended to Rosemary Coombe, who provided valuable feedback on an early incarnation of this project, and whose insights have woven their way into this work in many fruitful ways. It was also my great fortune to be enriched by the talents, insights and humor of a number of colleagues and friends of MIT's Program in Science, Technology, & Society, including Michael Fischer, Hugh Gusterson, Henry Jenkins, William Urrichio, Gabriella Coleman, Chris Kelty, Fred Turner, Pablo Boczkowski, Rachel Prentice, Natasha Myers, Candis Callison, Richa Kumar, Jamie Pietruska, Will Taggart, and Isa Dussuage. Lars Risan, Yuwei Li, Sampa Hyssalo, Stephanie Freeman, Eve Darrian-Smith, Kitty Calavita, Manuel Guererro, and Jesus Elizondo provided insightful readings, careful comments, and critical feedback on versions of these chapters that unquestionably strengthened their content. I am grateful for the support of the National Science Foundation's Graduate Research Fellowship, which provided funding for my fieldwork in Peru. My warmest