Chapter 13: ICT for Peace and Reconciliation: Constraints and Possibilities in Cambodia and Tibet

In the context of technological globalization, how are information communication technologies (ICTs) used as a means for reconciliation and peacemaking? In an era of condensed space and time, technology holds the potential to bring diverse people and divergent interests together to work toward common goals. The power of ICTs is being harnessed, in varying ways and degrees, by people and institutions around the world. The people of Tibet and the people of Cambodia have been influenced both by totalitarian rule and by isolating governance. ICTs are currently aiding Tibetans and Cambodians to find new ways to promote peace, to attempt to reconcile their conflict-ridden pasts, and to reconstruct a more prosperous future. In this chapter, we first present two case studies. We then explore the theoretical underpinnings behind peace and reconciliation and discuss broadly the concept of ICT for peace and how ICTs can be used for reconciliation. An overview of the literature on ICT for peace and reconciliation is presented alongside an author-generated model for how ICTs can be used as catalysts to aid conflict transformation. Finally, this chapter will examine how ICTs are being appropriated for strategic educational ends by the Tibetan Government in Exile in India and the people of Cambodia to foster reconstruction efforts and to build peace within those situated contexts.