Digital Democracy, Analogue Politics: How the Internet Era is Transforming Politics in Kenya
From the upheavals of recent national elections to the success of the #MyDressMyChoice feminist movement, digital platforms have already had a dramatic impact on political life in Kenya – one of the most electronically advanced countries in Africa. While the impact of the Digital Age on Western politics has been extensively debated, there is still little appreciation of how it has been felt in developing countries such as Kenya, where Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp and other online platforms are increasingly a part of everyday life. Written by a respected Kenyan activist and researcher at the forefront of political online struggles, this book presents a unique contribution to the debate on digital democracy. For traditionally marginalised groups, particularly women and people with disabilities, digital spaces have allowed Kenyans to build new communities which transcend old ethnic and gender divisions. But the picture is far from wholly positive. Digital Democracy, Analogue Politics explores the drastic efforts being made by elites to contain online activism, as well as how ‘fake news’, a failed digital vote-counting system and the incumbent president’s recruitment of Cambridge Analytica contributed to tensions around the 2017 elections. Reframing digital democracy from the African perspective, Nyabola’s ground-breaking work opens up new ways of understanding our current global online era.
Date: 1 February 2019, 17:00
Venue: St Cross College, St Giles OX1 3LZ
Speakers: Nanjala Nyabola, Professor Wale Adebanwi (University of Oxford)
Organising department: Centre for African Studies
Organisers: Africa Oxford Initiative (University of Oxford), Jason Mosley (University of Oxford)
Host: Africa Oxford Initiative (University of Oxford)
Part of: Northeast Africa Forum seminar series
Booking required?: Required
Booking url: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/afox-insaka-book-launch-edition-tickets-53051158443
Cost: Free (but registration required)
Audience: Public
Editor: Jason Mosley