The smartphone connects in violent conflicts: an ethnographic study of Mali's new war ecology

The Mali conflict that erupted in 2012 has developed simultaneously with the advancement of new information and communication technologies (ICTs). In this article, we research how digital communication (i.e. mobile phones and smartphones) and the conflict dynamics co-constitute each other. We analyse ethnographic data gathered during the conflict, from both off- and online sources, and view these data through the lens of ‘digital participatory warfare’ and as a ‘transformational condition of life’. On the individual, community, association, and state levels, ICTs transmit information about the conflict, create propaganda, and help organize actions. The effect of this digital participation in war is not direct and depends on social and political contexts. At the same time, there is a direct relation between the use of digital communication and the pushing of polarized religious and ethnic choices that foster feuds and violence. Simultaneously, however, digital participation also leads to networks of care.