A WORLD BANK STUDY The Role of Information and Communication Technologies in Postconfl ict Reconstruction Tim Kelly and David Souter The Role of Information and Communication Technologies in Postconflict Reconstruction A WORLD BANK STUDY The Role of Information and Communication Technologies in Postconflict Reconstruction Washington, D.C. © 2014 International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433 Telephone: 202-473-1000; Internet: www.worldbank.org Some rights reserved 1 2 3 4 16 15 14 13 This work is a product of the staff of The World Bank with external contributions. Note that The World Bank does not necessarily own each component of the content included in the work. The World Bank therefore does not warrant that the use of the content contained in the work will not infringe on the rights of third parties. The risk of claims resulting from such infringement rests solely with you. 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Cover design: Debra Naylor Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The Role of Information and Communication Technologies in Postconflict Reconstruction http://dx.doi.org/10.1596/978-1-4648-0074-0 Contents Acknowledgements ix About the Authors xi Abbreviations xiii PART-I An Overview and Framework for Analysis 1 Introduction 1 Notes 2 Chapter 1 Conflict, Reconstruction, and Development 3 1.1 A Framework for Understanding Postconflict Reconstruction 5 Notes 8 Chapter 2 ICTs, Reconstruction, and Development 9 Notes 13 Chapter 3 ICTs and Postconflict Reconstruction 15 3.1 Stabilization 16 3.2 Infrastructure, Sector Policy, and Regulation 19 3.3 Reconciliation 21 3.4 Media and Public Engagement 22 3.5 Development 28 Notes 34 Chapter 4 Summary and Recommendations 37 4.1 Stabilization 39 4.2 Consolidating Stabilization 39 4.3 Development 40 4.4 Conclusions 42 4.5 Further Research 43 The Role of Information and Communication Technologies in Postconflict Reconstruction v http://dx.doi.org/10.1596/978-1-4648-0074-0 vi Contents PART-II Chapter 5 Introduction to the Case Studies 45 Chapter 6 Afghanistan 51 6.1 Introduction 51 6.2 Afghanistan’s ICT Sector: From 2001 to 2012 51 6.3 Recent Developments 52 6.4 Challenges to the Growth of the ICT Sector 56 6.5 Critical Issues to be Addressed 56 6.6 Insights for Other Conflict-affected and Fragile Countries and States 57 Notes 58 Chapter 7 Liberia 59 7.1 Submarine Cable Connectivity 60 7.2 Cybercafé Users in Liberia 64 7.3 Reconciliation and the Web 67 7.4 Conclusion 69 Notes 69 Chapter 8 Rwanda 71 8.1 Policy and Implementation 72 8.2 Project Case Studies 75 8.3 Distinctive Factors of Rwanda’s ICT Experience 78 8.4 Conclusion 80 Notes 81 Chapter 9 Timor-Leste 83 9.1 ICTs in Timor-Leste 84 9.2 ICTs and Reconciliation 85 9.3 ICTs and Governance 85 9.4 ICTs and Human Development 86 9.5 The Way Forward 88 Chapter 10 Tunisia 91 10.1 Addressing Regional Disparity 92 10.2 The Role of SMEs 93 10.3 Investment in Higher Education 94 10.4 Participatory Politics 94 10.5 The Development of Civil Society 95 10.6 Building a Twenty-First-Century Social Compact 96 Selected Bibliography 97 The Role of Information and Communication Technologies in Postconflict Reconstruction http://dx.doi.org/10.1596/978-1-4648-0074-0 Contents vii Boxes 4.1 Policy Recommendations 41 5.1 The Need to Communicate Transcends Both War and Peace: The Case of Somalia 47 5.2 Regulatory Uncertainty as the Enemy of Investment: The Case of South Sudan 48 6.1 Afghanistan’s Village Communications Network 54 8.1 Women’s Networking for Peace Using ICTs 76 Figures 1.1 A Framework for Understanding Postconflict Reconstruction 6 5.1 Major Mobile Operators and Estimated Market Shares in Somalia, December 2012 48 7.1 Structure of the Consortium Created to Invest in the ACE Cable, Liberia 61 7.2 Popular Cybercafé Applications in Liberia 64 7.3 Cybercafé Usage Patterns in Liberia 65 7.4 Reliance on the Internet for Different Sources of Information, Liberia 66 7.5 Reliance on Different ICTs for Information, Liberia 66 7.6 Website of the Liberia Truth and Reconciliation Commission 68 8.1 National Information & Communication Infrastructure Plans (NICIs), Rwanda 73 Map B6.1.1 Map of Approximate Village Communications Network Locations 54 The Role of Information and Communication Technologies in Postconflict Reconstruction http://dx.doi.org/10.1596/978-1-4648-0074-0 Acknowledgments This report, on the role of Information and Communication Technologies in Postconflict Reconstruction, was commissioned by infoDev, a Global Partnership Program within the World Bank Group (www.infodev.org). The main report was written and the case study chapters edited by Dr. David Souter, ict Development Associates. The case study chapters represented here are summaries of much longer research projects carried out in 2012–13, which are available at www. infodev.org/postconflict. The Afghanistan case study, and accompanying video, was carried out by Dr. Siddhartha Raja, ICT Policy Specialist, World Bank. The Liberia case study was carried out by Dr. Michael Best, associate professor of the Georgia Institute of Technology. The Rwanda Case study was carried out by Mr. Nicolas Friederici, Oxford Internet Institute, with inputs from Mr. Kevin Donovan, University of Cape Town, and Mr Abdighani Jama, Somali Telecom Operators Association. The Timor-Leste case study was carried out by Dr. Chanuka Wattegama, LIRNEasia. The Tunisia case study was conducted by Mr. Zach Brisson and Ms. Kate Krontiris, of the social impact consultancy, Reboot. The overall program was led by Dr Tim Kelly, Lead ICT Policy Specialist, assisted by Mr. Nicolas Friederici, Mr. Kevin Donovan, and Ms. Akshaya Sreenivasan, Penn State University. The program was generously financed by UKaid. Each of the individual chapters was separately peer reviewed by teams of national and international experts. The overall report was reviewed, and approved for publication, at a meeting on 12 June 2013, chaired by Ms. Samia Melhem, Lead ICT Policy Specialist, World Bank. The peer reviewers for the study were Ms. Amela Odobasic, Head of Public Affairs of the Communications Regulatory Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mr. Daniel Stauffacher and Ms. Simone Eymann of the ICT for Peace Foundation, Dr. Boutheina Guermazi, Senior Regulatory Specialist, World Bank, Mr. Erik Johnson, Senior Operations Officer, World Bank, and Ms. Sarah Cliffe, Special Advisor, World Bank. The World Bank team would like to thank all of those who contributed to this report. The Role of Information and Communication Technologies in Postconflict Reconstruction ix http://dx.doi.org/10.1596/978-1-4648-0074-0 About the Authors Dr. Tim Kelly is a lead ICT policy specialist in the ICT Sector Unit of the World Bank Group, which he joined in 2008, initially to work with infoDev. He man- ages the analytical work program on ICT for Development, which, in 2012, saw the publication of the flagship reports on Mobilizing Mobile and eTransform Africa. On the operational side, he is currently managing ICT sector support programs in Botswana, Comoros, Mauritius, South Sudan, and Somalia. He was formerly head of the Strategy and Policy Unit of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and previously worked with the OECD and Logica Consultancy Ltd. Over the last 25 years, Dr. Kelly has specialized in the economics of informa- tion and communication technologies. He has written or coauthored more than 30 books on the subject, including the World Bank’s Broadband Strategies Handbook, ITU’s Internet Reports and World Telecommunication Development Report, and OECD’s Communications Outlook. He has an MA (Hons) degree in geography and a PhD in industrial economics from Cambridge University.