Africa and Europe: Cyber Governance Lessons

The document examines the AU's struggle to implement the 2014 Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection, noting that only seven of 55 member states had ratified it by October 2019. It compares the AU's approach to the EU's role as a 'norm entrepreneur' through regulations like the GDPR and the Cybersecurity Act. The author highlights Mauritius as a continental best practice for holistic national cyber strategy and recommends that the AU adopt 'Agile Governance Principles', engage more with civil society, and establish a continental body similar to the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA).

• The AU's primary instrument for cyber governance, the 2014 Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection, has seen very low adoption; as of October 2019, only 14 of 55 member states had signed it and only seven had ratified it, leaving it short of the 15 ratifications required to enter into force.
• Unlike the EU's unified legal framework, the AU Convention does not establish a single law for all members but instead obligates signatories to create their own national legal, policy, and regulatory measures for cybersecurity and data protection.
• The European Union acts as a 'norm entrepreneur' in cyberspace, utilizing its single market and shared values to implement uniform rules such as the 2018 General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Cybersecurity Act, the latter of which reinforces the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA).
• Mauritius serves as a model for African national cyber governance, having adopted comprehensive cybercrime legislation in 2003, a national cybersecurity strategy (2014–2019), and specific laws including the Electronic Act (2000), the Computer Misuse and Cyber Crime Act (2003), and the Data Protection Act (2004).
• The Budapest Convention on Cyber Crime provides an alternative international framework for cybercrime investigation and prosecution; while seven AU members have ratified it, South Africa has signed but not ratified the treaty.
• The author recommends that the AU adopt the World Economic Forum's 'Agile Governance Principles' to ensure legislation evolves with technology and encourages the creation of a continental body similar to ENISA.

APA

Turianskyi, Y. (2020). Africa and Europe: Cyber Governance Lessons. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Policy-Insights-77-turianskyi.pdf

Chicago

Turianskyi, Yarik. Africa and Europe: Cyber Governance Lessons. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2020. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Policy-Insights-77-turianskyi.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Turianskyi |first1=Yarik |title=Africa and Europe: Cyber Governance Lessons |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=January 2020 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Policy-Insights-77-turianskyi.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{turianskyi2020africa, author = {Turianskyi, Yarik}, title = {{Africa and Europe: Cyber Governance Lessons}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2020}, month = jan, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Policy-Insights-77-turianskyi.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }