Understanding Technology in the Context of National Development

Understanding Technology in the Context of National Development: Critical Reflections
Cover
AuthorSiddhartha Tiwari
Oleksii Kostenko
Yuriy Yekhanurov
LanguageEnglish
SeriesMonographs
SubjectTechnology policy
Economic development
GenreNon-fiction
Publication date
March 27, 2025
Publication placeCanada
ISBN978-1-0690482-3-3
OCLC1526578916

Understanding Technology in the Context of National Development: Critical Reflections is a 2025 book on technology policy and national development, written by Siddhartha Tiwari, Oleksii Kostenko, and Yuriy Yekhanurov (former Prime Minister of Ukraine). The book examines the relationship between digital technologies, governance and economic development in developing countries and middle-income countries.[1]

Synopsis

The book is structured as a set of thematic reflections for developing nations rather than a single-country case study. It presents a framework for analysing technology policy across four dimensions: digital governance capacity, institutional design, digital infrastructure and citizen capabilities.[2] The book examines how technological change shapes national development, including citizens' interactions, public sector service delivery, and the digital economy, while addressing governance challenges such as cross-border cloud services, fraud, and taxation.[3]

Reception

The book has received coverage in regional and international media focused on technology policy, governance, and development.

A review published in The Namibian described the book as a policy-oriented analysis of broadband expansion, public services digitisation, and economic development in emerging economies. It noted the book's emphasis on institutions and governance rather than technology itself, and observed that some themes were treated briefly due to the book's concise length and limited number of empirical case studies.[4]

In the Botswana Guardian, the book was described as "not as a celebratory ode to innovative technology, but as a guidebook for policymakers and public servants." The reviewer framed it as a pragmatic resource for Botswana's digital transformation and noted that it does not propose a one-size-fits-all model. Areas receiving less attention included multilingual design, small-market constraints, and traditional governance structures.[5]

Peter Tanyanyiwa of The Standard, discussed the book in the context of Kenya's development agenda and described it as relevant to debates on technology-led growth. He also highlighted the book's discussion of sustainability and ethical governance, including transparency and human oversight in the use of artificial intelligence in public decision-making.[6]

Academic use

The book has been cited in technological and applied science literature to examine the socio-economic impacts of data infrastructure on national development strategies.[7][8] It has been incorporated into university reading lists, including courses at Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Esa Unggul University, and VSB – Technical University of Ostrava.[9][10][11]

References

  1. ^ "Understanding technology in the context of national development : critical reflections". WorldCat.org. Retrieved 2026-01-08.
  2. ^ "Review of Understanding Technology in the Context of National Development: Critical Reflections (2025)". Econpapers.
  3. ^ Tiwari, Siddhartha Paul; Kostenko, Oleksii; Yekhanurov, Yuriy (2025-03-27). "Understanding Technology in the Context of National Development: Critical Reflections". MPRA Paper.
  4. ^ Yusuf, Husmiati (5 October 2025). "Africa's digital future through a global eye". The Namibian. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  5. ^ Tracy Tafirenyika (October 31, 2025). "Understanding technology in the context of national development". Botswana Guardian.
  6. ^ Tanyanyiwa, Peter (14 January 2026). "How Kenya can turn technological progress into real development". The Standard. Retrieved 2026-02-07.
  7. ^ Jiang, Bian; Mohamad, Siti Hajar Binti; Fernandez, Angelina Anne (2025-11-25). "Technological Readiness as A Mediator Between Ai Adoption and Cybersecurity Talent Management: Evidence from Beijing's Strategic Industries". Advances in Consumer Research. 2: 2274–2286. ISSN 0098-9258.
  8. ^ Utama, Kharisma Candra; Yuliana, Lingga (2025-05-02). "Implementasi Pembaruan Sistem Inti Administrasi Perpajakan (Coretax) terhadap Efisiensi Kinerja Pegawai di Direktorat Jenderal Pajak". MASMAN Master Manajemen. 3 (2): 43–56. doi:10.59603/masman.v3i2.813. ISSN 3025-7433.
  9. ^ "Review of Understanding Technology in the Context of National Development: Critical Reflections (2025)". Open Ukrainian Citation Index.
  10. ^ "Corpus ID: 283548534 Review of Understanding Technology in the Context of National Development: Critical Reflections (2025)". Semantic Scholar.
  11. ^ "Webové aplikace veřejné správy". VSB – Technical University of Ostrava.