Cooperation Between Ecuador and China in Security Technologies: The Case of ECU 911
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Abstract
This article aims to demonstrate that the Integral Security System (SIS) ECU 911 implemented in Ecuador is the result of a socio-technical adaptation, whose design, implementation and decay have been shaped by the foreign policy alignments of the various governments of the country. Two complementary theoretical approaches are used: international studies and social studies of science and technology. In-depth interviews with key actors linked to the initiative are conducted, and primary and secondary materials linked to the case are analyzed. The data show that while much of the technologies used in ECU 911 have been procured from Chinese actors, there was a process of adapting them to specific local needs, from the design of the project, led by the authorities on duty. The results indicate that criticism that this initiative represents the import of an authoritarian surveillance model from China is unsubstantiated.
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