2013. Vol. 3, Núm. 2 (2013): New(?) African Communication Environment

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China and the african internet: perspectives from Kenya and Ethiopia
(Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, 2013) Gagliardone, Iginio
Through the lens of China in Africa, this paper explores the transformations in the relationship between the Internet and the state. China’s economic success, impressive growth of Internet users and relative stability have quietly promoted an example of how the Internet can be deployed within the larger political and economic strategies of developing states, moving beyond the democratization paradigm promoted in the West. New evidence suggests that this model is becoming increasingly popular, but it is not clear why and how it is spreading. Through a case study comparison of an emerging democracy, Kenya, and a semiauthoritarian country, Ethiopia, where China has recently increased its involvement in the communications sector, this paper investigates whether and how the ideas of state stability, development and community that characterize the strategies pursued by the Chinese government are influencing and legitimizing the development of a less open model of the Internet. It analyses how new ideas, technologies and norms integrate with existing ones and which factors influence their adoption or rejection. It is based on fieldwork conducted in Ethiopia and in Kenya between 2011 and 2013, where data was collected through mapping Internet related projects involving Chinese companies and authorities, analysing Internet policies and regulations, and interviewing officials in Ministries of Communication, media lawyers, Internet activists, and Chinese employed in the media and telecommunication sector in Kenya and Ethiopia.
Internet y África: de la brecha a la esperanza digital. Redes, libertades y comunicación
(Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, 2013) González Pascual, Alberto; García Jiménez, Antonio
Con una mirada crítica y comparativa se esboza la realidad del universo digital en África, teniendo en cuenta las diferencias regionales existentes. De modo descriptivo, nos interesamos por cuestiones como la situación del acceso a Internet, las políticas de infraestructuras y regulatorias existentes, la economía digital, el impacto de los nuevos medios, las iniciativas de gobierno electrónico y participación ciudadana digital, y algunos aspectos de la colonización cultural que se puede producir a cuentas de una red claramente occidentalizada.
Racial equality activism in Brazil, communication via networks and internet: afropress news agency
(Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, 2013) Sedrez Chaves, Leslie; Cogo, Denise
The objective of this article is to analyze the processes of establishing activist social communication networks by black social movements in Brazil related to Afro-Brazilians’ struggles for citizenship. Recently, these struggles have culminated in the approval of the Racial Equality Act and government affirmative action policies for Brazilian university admissions. Within the scope of these processes, we analyze a specific contemporary experiment in networking by the black movement, developed by Afropress news agency. Initially, we review historic processes of inequality, resistance and mobilization of black populations in Brazil, identifying the establishment of social-communication activist networks starting with the uses black movements make of information and communication technology in their struggles for racial equality and citizenship for Afro- Descendents in the country. Second, from a Latin American cultural studies perspective, we analyze a specific case of internet use by Afropress news agency (www.afropress.com.br), which uses network communication as its main strategy for generating communicative flows to build and add visibility to the socio-cultural experiences of Afro-Brazilians and the agendas of struggles for racial equality.
The ethnic hate speech was networked: what political discussions on social media reveal about the 2013 general elections in Kenya
(Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, 2013) Mwende Maweu, Jacinta
This article examines if the increased political discussions on social media especially Twitter and Facebook before and after the March 4th, 2013 general elections in Kenya translated to a more robust alternative public sphere that broke the hegemony of the traditional media as agenda setters or an alternative space for the audience to vent out their frustrations and grievances about the election. In the last most contentious elections in 2007, in Kenya, both new and old media were blamed for fueling ethnic hate speech which culminated into the 2007/ 2008 post election violence. It is argued in this text that although voting patterns in the March 2013 elections were clearly along ethnic lines just like in 2007, there was no physical post election violence like was the case in 2008. What was clearly evident there was ethnic hate speech before and after the general elections on social media networks. We therefore observe that unlike in 2008 where ethnic violence was fought out in the streets, in the 2013 general elections, the ethnic war was networked. The article uses qualitative content analysis of some of the messages sent on Twitter and Facebook to argue that social media platforms only acted as alternative spaces for Kenyans to fight out their ethnic political wars and not alternative public spheres for constructive political deliberation. So it concludes by observing that social media networks in the 2013 general elections in Kenya acted as ‘opium of the masses’ only serving the function of keeping Kenya quiet and peaceful to prevent a repeat of the 2008 post election violence, but not alternative public spheres to facilitate constructive political deliberation.

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Examinando 2013. Vol. 3, Núm. 2 (2013): New(?) African Communication Environment por Materia "59 Ciencia Política"