Social Media and Democratisation in Africa – Starting the Conversation

Much has been written about the role of the internet and social media networks in the recent political uprisings in Northern Africa. But while the world has been attentively watching the people in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya rise up to claim their rights, little attention is being paid to the effects on the rest of the continent. Sub-Saharan Africa is often but a footnote in the global news stream and perceived as the “Dark Continent” in terms of technology by many. It is time to turn the spotlight on sub-Saharan Africa and investigate what role social media play for political communication and why or why not are they being used for organising protests.

Compared to North African countries like Egypt, internet connectivity is still strikingly low in sub-Saharan Africa. Although the number of internet users has grown significantly in some places due to changes in regulation and improvements in international backbone infrastructures, most African countries still have a lot of catching up to do, according to current ITU statistics. With about 10% of Africa’s population online, the continent is still way below the world average (30%) and the developing country average (21%)[1].

Despite persisting infrastructural challenges, internet-based communication has been gaining importance. The much reported rapid spread of mobile connectivity and services, as well as different forms of public and shared internet access, allow a growing number of people who may not have access to a computer or a fixed connection to take part in “the global conversation”.