Creator
Jonathan Fisher
Jonathan Fisher is the director of the International Development Department at the University of Birmingham
Is WhatsApp shaping democracy in Africa?
A study shows that the social messaging platform is both emancipatory and destructive, particularly during election campaigns
How colonial rule predisposed Africa to fragile authoritarianism
The unstable pathway many post-colonial African states followed was facilitated by the way in which European empires undermined democratic elements
![ganised criminal syndicates plan that the money be paid to someone [else’s] account so that it is difficult to trace it to the ultimate recipients, despite that they are the main beneficiaries of the spoils.” (Reuters)](https://images.newsteam.io/image/1000/2Bq28FuGKoMg1SnuEKjnGwrJAHnRCiKcG2JR8XCeZy4yfPXXb4TPknrjeAfXZHfoQkLdSiyDTpWGmmTQUYsVYZhHHyVkLRJtS9JJ35WwFtZRE7vaS4LVcwWH2hYzK87kvyiXVWZKJz723cVpHfC17es)
Video
New walls in cyberspace: Internet shutdowns and authoritarianism in Africa
Cutting off communication has become a favourite ploy of some of the continent’s Big Men. Ironically, this harms their standing in the long term