Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Economic and Socialcultural Effects of Developing Cyber-Infrastructure for Global information Storage in Iceland

University Of California-Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz CA

Investigators

Abstract

This award supports the dissertation research project of Alix Johnson, PhD candidate at the University of California Santa Cruz. Ms. Johnson's research investigates how the increase in private and public investment in global information infrastructure in Iceland affects social-cultural, economic, and governance systems, as well as national identity. Information technology and trade is often proposed as a solution to the economic challenges of many rural Artic communities. This research has the potential to inform other Arctic communities about the societal impacts of information technology as an approach to economic self-sufficiency in the north. This research project examines a range of ongoing efforts by private and public entities to make Iceland an "information haven" - an attractive location for storing data from around the world. By building data centers, founding start-ups, and passing "information-friendly" legislation, Icelanders hope to carve out a national niche and attract global data to Icelandic infrastructure. The project will explore how the development of this new infrastructure is changing local Icelandic livelihoods and senses of national identity. Juxtaposing the globalization of information with nationalism and sovereignty, identity and place-making is a new look at these processes in the Arctic, processes that Arctic communities will see more of in the coming decades.