Non-governmental forms of American engagement in the Republic of Uganda have economic and political impacts. This paper will investigate American Information and Communication Technology (ICT) firms in particular and closely study their patterns of engagement in Uganda to understand economic and political development impacts. Two hypotheses are identified and closely evaluated against observations. The first hypothesis explores the relationship between the engagement of American ICT firms in Uganda and the impact of such engagement on the economic development of Uganda. A positive correlation is identified between the two variables. The second hypothesis explores the relationship between the engagement of American ICT firms in Uganda and the impact of such engagement on the political development of Uganda. A negative correlation is identified between such engagement and short-term political development outcomes; whereas a positive correlation is identified between such engagement and the long-run political development outcomes. This paper concludes with key recommendations on how the US State Department can leverage the engagement of US-based ICT firms in Uganda, to improve both economic and political development outcomes.  

The diplomatic relationship between the United States and Uganda dates back to 1962, when Uganda gained its independence (US Department of State, 2019). Despite continued support and ongoing cooperation between the two countries through the decades, “power and infrastructure constrains, corruption, underdeveloped democratic institutions and human rights deficits”, continue to plague the Republic of Uganda (US Department of State, 2019). So to investigate the impact and effectiveness of US governmental and non-governmental forms of engagement in Uganda is urgent and necessary for future developmental gains. For the purpose of this paper, non-governmental, US private sector engagement will be closely studied, focusing on the Information and Communication Technology sector in particular. Two hypotheses will be studied through this paper. The first hypothesis explores the correlation between US-based ICT sector engagement in Uganda and political development in Uganda. The second hypothesis explores the correlation between US-based ICT sector engagement in Uganda and economic development in Uganda. After careful evaluation of the literature and theory, a positive or negative relationship will be assigned between the variables. 

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