Social Movements and Digital Activism in Africa

"The role of digital activism in supplementing, and even supplanting, traditional journalism as Africa's watchdog has been under researched. Akpojivi provides an exhaustive and timely dive into digital activism through meticulously researched case studies in Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa, and optimistically positions digital activism as one powerful answer to neo-colonialism and poor governance. This is a book that will assist well-reasoned interpretations of online social movements in Africa for years to come." -Prof. Chris Paterson, University of Leeds, UK. This book analyses social movements, digital activism and protest actions in Africa using a de-colonial approach, with selected case studies of #BringBackOurGirls, #OurMumuDonDo, #FeesMustFall, and #OccupyGhana from Nigeria, South Africa and Ghana. This book examines the ideological background of social movements and the broader micro/macro structures that exist within these movements and how these structures shape their engagement with state and non-state actors. The author argues that the ideological orientation of movement founders influenced the broader belief of each movement, which in turn shaped the micro and macro structure and relationships of the movements and their engagement with the state. Furthermore, the author argues that not all movement members aligned with the movement's ideological belief, thus the disconnect and contestation within these movements. This book provides much-needed systematic, critical review and cutting-edge research into the ideology, practices, performance, and trends of social and digital movements in Sub-Saharan African countries. Ufuoma Akpojivi is the Policy, Research and Learning Lead at Advocates for International Development, United Kingdom. Prior to this, he was an Associate Professor at the Media Studies Department, University of theWitwatersrand, South Africa and a Visiting Professor at the School of Media and Communication, Pan-Atlantic University, Nigeria. He has over 16 years of professional, and exceptional teaching and research experience in Media and Communications.

Auteur

Ufuoma Akpojivi is the Policy, Research and Learning Lead at Advocates for International Development, United Kingdom. Prior to this, he was an Associate Professor at the Media Studies Department, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa and a Visiting Professor at the School of Media and Communication, Pan-Atlantic University, Nigeria. He has over 16 years of professional, and exceptional teaching and research experience in Media and Communications.