Development communication and the paradox of choice: imposition and dictatorship in comparing Sámi and San Bushmen experiences of cultural autonomy

Abstract

This research examines the relevance of Kenneth Arrow's (1951) Impossibility Theorem as a criterion for assessing postmodern critical approaches to development media theories. Comparing two distinct indigenous minorities’ experiences with struggles for cultural autonomy, those of Norway's Sámi and Botswana's Basarwa, it was found that the media discourses used by NGOs frequently exploit a narrative that validly permits development to be treated as a species of social welfare implementation. Applying Arrow's conditions for the democratic summation of diverse preferences, and treating cultural, political, and civil society groups as ‘voters’, it was found that indigenous minority concerns may be best accommodated by linking them to broader issues that exploit historical ties between peoples, with a special emphasis on episodes that have led to coordination in achieving independent ends. Popular memories of such coordination appear to moderate relations between minorities and their national co-habitants, reducing the need for the radicalisation of indigenous issues and smoothing the path to autonomy.