The Impact Of Information Communication Technology On Foreign Policy Making In Nigeria

The Impact Of Information Communication Technology On Foreign Policy Making In Nigeria

Chapter

1.0 Preface

The recent advances in information communication technology( ICT) especially on the aspect of foreign policy timber are getting central to other processes, similar as socio- profitable and political development of nation countries and how nations relate to each other. ICT offers new ways of swapping information and transacting business and new style of commerce between countries, change the nature of fiscal and other service sectors and provides effective use of mortal and institutional capabilities of countries in both the public and private sector especially on the field of foreign policy information communication technology( ICT) and vast enhancement in aeronautics technology and other effects, have reduced the distance between countries, which enhances the occasion for foreign policy maker to communicate directly. Infact, ICT has changed the way nation countries relate to each other. Prior to the alternate world war II, tactfulness was the sole responsibility of the ministers they’re frequently the representatives of their separate state, but moment, head of state can now directly communicate through, telephone, fax, internet, in order to bandy and iron out differences or negotiate differences which ministers can not command.

As it’s well known, tactfulness is looked upon as the use of political influence to induce other countries to exercise their law making powers in the manner defined by the state command and the task of tactfulness include among, other effects, routine representation, arbitration, concession and protuberance of common and political interest of the country. This task is moment largely eased by the actuality and operation of ICT. moment ICT has entered nearly all desirable domestic instruments of foreign policy timber of the country, in otherword’s for effective operation of either profitable, tactfulness, military or artistic instrument or both, the use of ICTS is imperative, in addition to all other aspects of mortal development especially as it relates to foreign policy timber.

The world moment is fleetly moving towards knowledge grounded on profitable structures and information societies, which comprise network of individualities, policy makers, enterprises and countries that are linked electronically andinter-dependent connections. moment the competitive and relative advantages of countries are gradationally being determined by access of ICT and knowledge for the pursuit of public interest.

Information Communication Technology( ICT) has backed foreign policy makers similar as diplomats, principal directors of ministry of foreign affairs in colorful capacity of foreign policy timber. It also aids them to understand and explain decision- making process and relationship with the bureaucracy, their power centers on pressure group in the expression and prosecution of foreign policy of the country.

The multitudinous advantages for the adaption of ICT in foreign policy decision and in other member of mortal development are endless. This by recrimination means that, foreign policy makers and other member of the frugality in developing nations can not but be apprehensive of the trends in ICT as employed by other countries of the world.

thus, Nigeria foreign policy would be looked upon from its principled ideal of promoting and guarding the country’s public interest and its commerce with the outside world and its relationship with other countries in the transnational system among other objects. thus, ICT serve as a critical and pivotal element to the Nigeria foreign policy decision makers.

Statement Of The Problem

v Information is said to be central in foreign policy timber and analysis. utmost countries moment both developed and developing have unexpectedly paid significant attention to the development of ICT more especially in the conduct and salesmanship of their separate public interest. The issue at stake, does ICT make any positive impact on foreign policy timber? That’s whether the significance of ICT is honored and applied in Nigeria foreign policy timber. The exploration seeks to determine the points, objects, achievements and constraints of ICT in Nigeria hunt to join in the race for technological development to pursue a dynamic foreign policy in line with trends of globalization, request emancipation, and foreign relations.

Objects Of The Study

The main ideal is to probe the part of information communication technology in information dispersion on Nigeria foreign policy. Other objects include

1. To examine the relationship between information communication technology and foreign policy making in Nigeria.

2. To interrogate the position of impact of ICT on Nigeria foreign policy.

3. To identify constraints that militates against the operation of ICT in foreign policy making in Nigeria.

4. To recommend measure for reducing or barring these constraints

Theoretical Frame Work

In line with the tradition in new political wisdom and transnational relations of adopting perspectives and frame of reference from colorful disciplines a number of writes, similar as Nobert wiener, KarlW. Deutsch among a number of have developed a new approach in political analysis especially on the aspect of transnational relation on the base of communication proposition and cybernetics. The communication proposition, as it’s called, looked at the task of government and politics in the scene of process of steering and coordinating mortal sweats toward the attainment of a set of thing within this general frame work, then decision is taken to be the central medium through which this process manifests itself.

Communication proposition as an idea was put forward by Nobert wiener in the 1940s wiener, noted an advancement in information transfer through electronic process or processes similar as radar, solaretc. still, the operation of communication proposition in transnational politics especially on transnational relations was develop and vulgarized by Karl Deutsch and according to him cybernetics that’s the wisdom of communication and control which represent a shift in the center of interest from drive to steering when applying to politics this means an emphasis to decision, control, and communication rather than power which are without the mistrustfulness been the primary and at the same time exclusive interest of political scientist.

This proposition tries to treat the government as a decision making system grounded on colorful information flows. Then Deustch( Leiber 1973) introduced two introductory generalities, the conception relating to operating structure under this conception, there’s receptor or receptor systems, as

Deutsch like to call them. Political system receives information from domestic as well as foreign. Then the notion of event covers several functions beyond the simple input of those information’s like surveying operations, selection of information, data processing, etc then what Deutsch is trying to explain is the way and nature under which information is process for recycling the incoming information within the decision- making upon by the structures representing memory, value complexes and the entire outfit. Information are handled and acted terrain itself which make factual opinions.

The alternate order of generalities, dealing with overflows and processes is maybe indeed more important. Information being a patterned set information flows which together for a communication network, this involve several kinds of other generalities. Particularly of channels, cargo and cargo capacity. cargo capacity is determine by the figures and types of channels available for tender inflow, while bad relates to the overall input of information at any given time.

In political system loads vary mainly over time as well as differ significantly in quality. Then Deutsch went further to specify a number of other factors to which cargo capacity is veritably privately related, similar as responsiveness, dedication background, noise and deformation. It’s also important to note that the communication system is able of associating, locating and bringing forward once experience that are applicable to the analysis of the incoming information. This has been described as the notion of recall. There’s also as combination capacity which Deutsch affirmed that, this is a situation which a wide range of information inputs is such a way to make and apply decision with positive consequences for the attainment of pretensions, it thus follows, that political system especially the aspect of transnational relation according to the communication proposition can be studied as networks of communication channels and we may indeed be in such a way as to reach this pretensions. Deutsch claimed unless the governments are entering continue overflows of information regarding the distance between their original situation and the ideal or the thing by want to attain, the distance between their present position and the thing, and the extent to which their trouble to reach the thing succeed, which moment is made possible with the announcement of information communication technology and its affiliated trends.

The frame work of the communication proposition went further to included four quantitative factors in this analysis as follows; information cargo, pause and gain. For the purpose of this study we shall concentrate on the cargo factors, which Deutsch refers as the capability of an association to prognosticate the unborn state of the surroundings. So as to make an effective way of anticipating the necessary adaptation in the advancement of humanity, In other words the decision makers of a political system must thus essay to take into consideration and also prognosticate some discussion that may be favourable to the terrain, that’s the most important future of political system which have its own capacity to keep up with the changing terrain.

At this point it’s important to know that communication approach can prop foreign policy decision maker among other groups to be suitable to judge the capacity of a political system more directly in terms of control its exercises over the entire political process, the capability with which it’s suitable to maintain conditions necessary of its thing.

likewise the communication proposition has its capability of furnishing to the state the capacity of changing its pretensions and literacy by experience the conception of thing changing feed reverse and literacy. A political system thus has the occasion to change its thing designedly when ever it’s demanded. pretensions are dynamic not stationary thus changes in the artistic pattern and personality structure of the political nobility may bring about changes in the pretensions sought by a political decision system.

From the forenamed analysis the communication approach provides significant sapience into the dynamic of foreign policy. Indeed movement in the transnational system inflow from hundreds of decision made by government andnon-government institutions and enterprises around the world which are frequently deduced overflows of timely information is shouldn’t thus forget that the approach emphases primarily on decision timber as a process and not so much on the results or consequences of decision. This proposition concentrate upon public decision process so as to determine what influence or shape relations between state ’. This study thus borrow this approach as its theoretical frame work due to its viability and applicable in foreign policy making in Nigeria as away in the globe.

Exploration Thesis Hypotheticals

A thesis is a conditional answer put forward by a experimenter as the anticipated answer to exploration problem or question. It’s called conditional answer because the answer is put forward indeed before the experimenter goes into the field to collect data. In this study, the experimenter put forward the following thesis to serve as a companion for this work

There’s relationship between information communication technology and the development of Nigerian foreign policy

Exploration Methodology

This exploration work calculate heavily on secondary sources of data. Data is collected from books, journals, exploration thesis and compositions, internet, conference papers, diurnal review and daily magazines. Data is also drawn from radio and TV programs. The information gathered from the accoutrements will be presented, reviewed and analysed using intertwined system of data analysis grounded on and to achieve the purpose of the exploration.

Significance Of The Study

This exploration work is aimed at abetting Nigerian as a nation state to forge ahead in her hunt for socio- profitable development, reduce poverty,un-employment and raise the country’s elevation from an profitable dependent country to an profitable independent nation, through the used of ICT.

It also aimed to ameliorate on Nigeria’s conduct of foreign policy opinions and to ameliorate Nigerians status and applicability in transnational politics, by show containing Nigeria profitable capabilities, culture, traditionetc. it would also serve as a springboard to foreign policy makers in their hunt to pursue a dynamic foreign policy in line with the present area of globalization, through the accession of applicable ultramodern ICT installations, and to add value or donation to being knowledge in the dynamic of foreign policy timber, in the present information technology age. To reap from the anticipated earnings of ICT especially in the aspect of the profitable which is identify as a important instrument in the pursue of public interest of countries, through embracing all applicable ICT installations and bag and espousing all necessary programs.

Compass And Limitation

The geographical content of this study is Nigerian as a nation state. While its content concentrated on the discussion of the impact of information, communication technology in policy timber between 1999 and 2014 because this is the time when republic come to stay in Nigeria state. In so doing the focus will be how information communication technology is applied in reacquiring storing and dispersion of information and how this information is communicated and made available to Nigeria foreign policy makers. still, by virtue of the oneness of this exploration work, i imaged the problem for data collection may be a interference for this work, this is due to the fact that, the ministry in- charge of making foreign policy opinions as a matter of policy don’t disclosed information fluently couple with the actuality of regulatory bottle necks which makes access to data from these services delicate. The mortal factor is also a interference for accurate information reclamation i.e. the canvasser are frequently sceptical in giving out the true position of effects as regard to their sanctioned positions anyhow of the fact that names individualities are frequently not mentioned. In addition the issue of limited coffers and time factor is a interference that make this exploration work to be limited to Nigeria.

Description Of Terms

For the purpose of this study the following terms are to be used. therefore,

1. Impact

2. Information

3. Communication technology

4. Foreign policy.

Impact For the purpose of this work the study acclimated menou’s description of impact which is appertained to as a process that causes metamorphosis of a miracle both positive and negative aspect of it.

Information Can be define as the knowledge that was unknown to the receiver previous to its damage, while in a affiliated development Michael( 1989) viewed the term as the support information system( computerized and primer) within an association and those releasing out to client and suppliers.

Newton defined ICT to includes all the summation of a communication system which involves all the outfit which must be connected together in order to shoot admit information similar as computer, fax, TV, radio, in focus projector, digital camera, telephone.

Foreign policy Is define as system of conditioning executed by community for changing the geste of other countries and for conforming their norm to the transnational terrain while Thomas Schelling define it as complicated and unruly different to prognosticate, full of surprises, demanding corridor choice that must be base on judgment rather than analysis taking place in a world that changes fleetly which memory and gests are likely out of data, foreign policy design the image of a country.