ENCOURAGING POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN AFRICA

The report argues that social media can drive political engagement in Africa, citing examples from the Arab Spring and elections in Nigeria and Zambia. However, it highlights significant obstacles, including low internet penetration, high costs, and active government censorship or surveillance in countries like Uganda, Zimbabwe, Angola, and Cameroon.

• Social media platforms have demonstrated the ability to facilitate large-scale political change and citizen-led engagement, as seen in the 'Arab Spring' protests in Tunisia and Egypt, where tools like Facebook and Twitter helped drive demonstrations against corruption and unemployment.
• In Africa, the growth of mobile broadband is expected to dominate the internet market because fixed telephone lines are the lowest in the world at 3 per 100 inhabitants.
• Internet access in Africa is limited by high costs and socioeconomic inequalities; fixed broadband costs are prohibitively high, representing approximately 291 per cent of the average gross national income (GNI) per capita.
• Social media is increasingly used to enhance electoral participation in Africa, with examples including President Goodluck Jonathan's use of Facebook for his 2011 Nigerian candidacy and the use of Twitter by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to interact with voters.
• Various African governments employ repressive strategies to counter social-media-driven activism, including blocking platforms, censoring content, and arresting users on charges such as treason.
• Specific state interventions include the Ugandan government's request to block Facebook and Twitter during 2011 protests, Cameroon's 10-day suspension of Twitter SMS services in March 2011, and Angola's legislation allowing the interception of communications without court authorization.
• In South Africa, social media is used more openly by the state and political parties to stimulate participation, such as the presidency's verified accounts and the Democratic Alliance's (DA) digital strategy to build relationships with supporters.

APA

Chatora, A. (2012). ENCOURAGING POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN AFRICA. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/SitRep2012_15Mar.pdf

Chicago

Chatora, Arthur. ENCOURAGING POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN AFRICA. Institute for Security Studies, 2012. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/SitRep2012_15Mar.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Chatora |first1=Arthur |title=ENCOURAGING POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN AFRICA |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=15 March 2012 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/SitRep2012_15Mar.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{chatora2012encouraging, author = {Chatora, Arthur}, title = {{ENCOURAGING POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN AFRICA}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2012}, month = mar, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/SitRep2012_15Mar.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }