‘Digital Public Infrastructure’: Cultural hegemony and states’ technological dependence

Vollständiger Abstract

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I present a critical analysis of ‘Digital Public Infrastructure’ (DPI). Through the example of India's DPI, also called the India Stack, I argue that the promotion of DPI contributes to the expansion of technological dependence on Big Tech companies’ digital infrastructure, transforming not only citizens but also states into their customers. To understand why such a contradictory policy has become so popular, I trace the origin of the term to Bill Gates and illustrate how his foundation, the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme and other related institutions describe DPI as foundational digital systems that play a key role in the fulfilment of the UN sustainable development goals and, ultimately, development itself. I situate this discourse within broader narratives that promote technological solutions to structural economic and political hardships, particularly underdevelopment. I then build on Gramsci's notion of cultural hegemony and the literature on philanthro-capitalism to deconstruct the meanings of ‘public’ and ‘infrastructure’ promoted by the Gates Foundations and its partnering international organizations. This commentary concludes by underscoring the consequences of the DPI rhetoric for peripheral and semi-peripheral states’ governance.