Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/2440/62519
Type: Conference paper
Title: Hear our song: Struggles over freedom of speech, telecommunications access rights and political transformation in Nepal
Author: Wilmore, M.
Citation: Crises and Opportunities: Past, Present and Future: proceedings of the 18th Biennial Conference of the ASAA, held at The University of Adelaide 5-8 July 2010 / E. Morrell and M. Barr (eds.): 15 p.
Publisher: ASAA
Publisher Place: www
Issue Date: 2010
ISBN: 9780725811365
Conference Name: Asian Studies Association of Australia Biennial Conference (18th : 2010 : Adelaide, Australia)
Statement of
Responsibility: 
Michael Wilmore
Abstract: This paper examines recent arguments surrounding the right to broadcast and ‘narrowcast’ human speech in Nepal. It focuses in particular on the development of community radio, mobile telephony, and the use of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) applications by computer users. It describes how demands for increasing freedom of speech and rights over access to these various means of communication have been intrinsic to Nepal’s recent political transformation. These demands are also implicated in a tragic civil conflict that has left more than 13,000 people dead, countless others injured, and many livelihoods destroyed. However, such demands have not only arisen through dramatic political struggle, but have also been reinforced via expression of more quotidian frustration over restricted access to telecommunications by ‘ordinary’ citizens. The paper argues that we can better understand how momentum for political change occurs in an era of globalized, consumer-based politics through analysis of these seemingly more mundane frustrations, alongside an appreciation of the political implications of suggested mechanisms for the governance and regulation of media and telecommunications technologies. It examines the implications of this case study for our understanding of on-going political changes in other nations of the Asia-Pacific region.
Keywords: Nepal
telecommunications
convergence
governance
Rights: Copyright the author 2010
Published version: http://asaa.asn.au/ASAA2010/reviewed_papers/#w
Appears in Collections:Aurora harvest
Media Studies publications

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