Technology could be defined as the ability to use scientific knowledge acquired for the purposes of communication, solving problems, to access, manage, integrate, evaluate, design and create information to improve learning in all areas of the everyday activities of the world. The scientific knowledge could be acquired through practicing or theoretical learning processes. The application of the knowledge gained by either process could be helpful in the development of the degradation of life's processes depending on how it is applied by different people. Technology is as a result of creativity and innovation. Learners must be creative thinkers and be innovative in order to gain technological knowledge.
Politics, on the other hand, could be defined as a work of art or science that is concerned with the governance structures more so with a specified geographical area as a nation, village or county. Politics, therefore, has a more direct influence on the lives of the population of a given state or country. The policies that the government would adopt in fostering their development would largely be dependent on the political structures of that country. The education systems must also be convincing to the political class of the state for them to be accepted into the lives of the citizens. Every aspect of the country's progress in any given field would, consequently, be dependent upon the way in which they appealed to the political class.
Technology and politics would, therefore, be two disciplines that would be deeply intertwined. Technology to a larger extent would be more dependent on the way the political class would approach technological issues. If any meaningful technological advances were t be realized in a country, it would, be significant for the proponents of the technological developments to engage the political class in a constructive dialogue. That would be aimed at embracing technology as a modern way of achieving faster developments in any front. This paper would, therefore, look at the relationship between technology and politics, more so how technology has affected African politics in general.
Since the concept of civilization was coined and widely circulated, the world has witnessed some rapid developments on the technological front. Several sophisticated machines and other scientific inventions have been introduced in the modern world that could only be described as fantastic. I say wonderful because of the things that these machines have done to influence our lives. Some people would even wonder how the world that we live in today would be without technology. Several inventions and practices have been adopted that have shaped the world to be what it is today. Politics too has played a role in shaping technology to be the way it is today. The political leadership was never left behind in the adoption of new technological trends that would forever have an influence in the life of their citizens.
It is a well-known fact that the colonization of the continent of Africa brought with it civilization to the mainland. The effects of migration, therefore, brought with it several advantages to the lifestyles of the ordinary Africans if the disadvantages were to be overlooked in this article. The advent of technology in Africa could be traced back to the colonial days. Political leadership organization too could also have taken shape from the colonial masters. Going back to the colonial days, the colonial rulers brought with them several items that the African cultures soon adopted as a way of life. The invention of the radio, for example, was a colonial strategy to conquer and rule the continent of Africa. It was a technological means that enabled the colonialists to communicate effectively and efficiently thereby allowing the colonial masters to gain new ground in the continent and could still be in touch with their homeland. The radio as a tool for communication also enabled the colonialists to share their experiences on how they could conquer and control the continent of Africa.
The radio was also an effective tool for spreading false messages across the continent to make Africans believe that the colonialists were only interested in the development of Africa as the continent. That was aimed at softening their hearts so that they could warmly welcome the colonialists. The radio, therefore, enabled the political leadership of the colonial masters to consolidate their positions and be more organized in their approach to achieve their objective. That was to put the continent of Africa under their control. Fast forward to the post-colonial Africa, a radio, even though it has advanced technologically and had a better performance as compared to the colonial times, is still found in Africa. The African leadership has considered it a strategic tool not only for its variety of options, but also to communicate to their citizenry. The radio, today is used as a means of selling policies in the whole world when different political ideologies are competing for political power. The entrenched African political leadership too would still use the radio to spread propaganda messages to their citizenry to help them achieve self-benefiting ends.
Consequently, it would be summarized that indeed, technology and politics are interrelated in the African context. The invention of means of transport would also be a remarkable breakthrough in the advancement of technology. If it were not for the invention of means of transportation, the planet earth could still have been far behind in technological advancements. The technological devices of the transport system enables one to move from one place to another with lots of speeds thereby saving the time one would have taken while using slower means of transport. It has enabled the citizenry as well as the political leaders to traverse the world efficiently in search of better living conditions either for themselves or for the benefit of the larger population.
Today, politicians, in Africa included using the technological inventions of the transport sector to move from one place to another in an effort to consolidate their political control of the economies of their countries. Several technological advancements have been seen in this field that has enhanced both the speed and accuracy at which these means move. The invention of the airspace vessels like jets and choppers has only added to the excitement in this sector. These two ships in particular have enabled the political class to move from one place to another more so during political debates for political control of the country. Choppers, unlike bigger airbuses, have the potential to land anywhere so long as there would be some adequate space. This technological invention has greatly helped the modern day political leadership while looking to consolidate their support for policy formulation by their citizenry. It is without a shadow of doubt that the technological advancement has been the greatest boost to political leadership throughout the world. In the context of the African political establishment, the technical inventions in the transport sector have been a major boost to furthering their political agenda across the divide in political struggles.
Another modern day technological invention that has also impacted positively with the political class was the design of audio visual machines. Technological inventions have enabled man to record, transmit and save for future purposes events that are happening in the modern world through audio visual machines. The designs of machines like video recorders, the television sets, digital cameras and other electronic gadgets that could transmit images from on part o another had some impact on the political establishment. For example, it is now possible for a political leader to address a political gathering from one end of the country, and technology has allowed for live transmission of that meeting to the rest of the world. This way, technology has greatly favored the ruling political class. The involvement of the political leadership in every aspect of the nation would not only be an imagination. But it would also be real as events across the country would be transmitted to the national audience thanks to the invention of technology. The engagement of technological advancements by the political leadership especially in Africa has so far worked for the benefit of the two sectors. Whereas the political class enjoys the advantages that come with the advance in technology, the technological companies enjoy the financial benefits that come with the application of the technical machines.
Other than audiovisual developments, the advancements in telephony have also been a welcome invention to the African political leadership. The most appreciable design in this aspect was that of mobile phones. Just like the name suggests, mobile phones have enabled the political class to participate in the nation building in real time. As opposed to traditional means of information exchange, the policy classes have been able to communicate and share information with other development partners without having to necessarily commute to go and exchange ideas. This development has also enabled the local citizenry to exchange developmental ideas with the political class whenever they feel like as these devices allow them to communicate in real time. The continued advancements in the development of the mobile telephony have also opened new avenues for public participation in national affairs in the modern world. The new age mobile phones have applications that enable people to share and receive audio as well as video links. This improvement has also kind of opened up the democratic space for the citizens.
As opposed to traditional methods, the new age systems of communication have given the population a leeway in interacting with the political leadership at different levels that have always worked to foster national unity and development. The technological advances in the communications industry I would say, have served better the citizens as it has served more options to the political class by means of interacting with the residents. It has fastened and made simpler the delivery of political messages that have the direct impact on the lives of the ordinary citizens.
Alternative aspect that technology greatly revolutionized was the healthcare sector. The effects of technology on the healthcare sector had bigger changes to the African traditional settings and to a greater extent the management of political policies regarding health care provision. Like we mentioned earlier, the political influence on the peoples' cultures and practices were one aspect that could not be wished away with ease. In reality, politics shaped the lives of the ordinary citizens who might not have to necessarily participate in political contests. The technological inventions in the health care have been one aspect that has had the greater impact on the lives of the ordinary citizens. Before the era of colonialism, Africa relied on traditional medicine in the cure of diseases. The mastered the herbs so much that they could never imagine a future without the herbal medicine. When the colonialists came, education came along with them. People advanced in research and with the advancements in the technological inventions, better medicine that was nicely packed was found for the cure of many diseases as opposed to the traditional hers that were indigenously used.
Further research also enabled the modification of machines that could test and detect diseases in the human body. Not only did the machines detect diseases, but research also provided for a mechanism for countering these conditions thereby eradicating them from the human body. Nothing could have lightened up the spirits of the political class than that of technological breakthroughs in the healthcare sector. The political leadership needed a healthy population to control. The achievements attained in the health sector meant that the population could no longer be a diseased lot, thanks to technology. Several lifesaving machines have since been developed through technological advancements. Technical machines like life support machine have been invented and have had a greater impact on the average population. These could only come as good news to the politicians as they would be able to gamble in their campaigns to bring state of the art machines to improve the quality of life for the electorates. The achievements of technology in the healthcare sector have only served to lighten up the spirits of the political elite. The belief in technology by the political class could only prove how important technology would be to politics and how much the technicians would also need politicians to advance their technical skills in the development of state of the art machines.
The improvement in tools that were used in the African culture has also taken new technological twists that have had forbearing on the national right of the citizens, as well as the political class. The traditional tools that were used in the traditional African culture to help in their daily activities were overtaken by technology. For example, today, there are tractors that could be used in tilling large parcels of farms at the expense of the traditional homes that were regarded as useful back then. This technological improvement could not be any good news to any class of the society like the political class. In their campaigns for political leadership, the politicians have always promised to look for modern ways of making the lives of the ordinary citizens better. There would be no better way to achieve this than to embrace technology.
Consequently, as opposed to traditional farming methods where a lot of energies was expended, modern technological techniques have been adopted by the political leadership to help reduce labor output and maximize agricultural inputs. The advantages of these technological advances in the agricultural sector have only served to tighten the bonds between the political class and the ordinary citizens. The developments in technology that have been embraced by the political class have so far worked for the benefits of the local citizens.In conclusion, in as much as technology and politics are two diverse areas of concentration, we have successfully demonstrated in this paper that the two could actually go together. That could be more visible in the African context. The African culture like it was back in the day before civilization was considered as backward.
With the advent of technology, new techniques of doing things have been embraced thanks to technological intervention. The technological developments like we have demonstrated needed goodwill from the political class in order to take root in the country. Political goodwill, though, comes with the extra package of adding value to the profile of the political class. The political class, therefore, would need the technology in order to advance their political interests and achieve their political dreams. Technology, on the other hand would need the goodwill of the political class in order to showcase their technical skills aimed at improving the technological aspect of the society. It is my submission, therefore, that technology and politics could be directly or indirectly interrelated more so in the African politics.
Bibliography
Bruijn, Mirjam de, Francis B. Nyamnjoh, and Inge Brinkman. Mobile Phones: The New Talking Drums of Everyday Africa. Bamenda, Cameroon: Langaa, 2009.
Nwokeafor, Cosmas U., and Kehbuma Langmia. Media and Technology in Emerging African Democracies. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 2010.
