Thesis Title:
Identity Formation and Mobilisation: The Influence of Hashtag Activism on Protest Movements in sub-Saharan Africa
Abstract:
In recent times, the proliferation of social media platforms and the widespread adoption of smartphones have provided a new avenue for political activism in sub-Saharan Africa. Hashtag activism has been employed as an tool for amplification and mobilisation towards collective action. These are proven in the renewed wave of protests erupting across the continent, in what some scholars describe as a third/fourth wave of political discontent in sub-Saharan Africa (Mueller, 2018; Howard and Hussain, 2014).
Some scholars argue that most of these hashtag-driven movements are merely all bark and no bite, or characteristically dismiss them as clicktivism. However, government responses to these protests in terms of repressive online and offline tactics, securitisation of dissent, deployment of misinformation campaigns on these platforms (Reuters Institute, 2023), and/or increased presence and engagement on social media, point to the potential impact of these protests on the politics of their countries. Through these online media, social movements are leveraging newer and more creative ways of engaging Africa’s young population and recruiting them into the political process. And these mobilisation tactics are enabling dynamic opportunities for increased political awareness, and collective political identity formation.
The central question of this research study, therefore, is: How does hashtag activism influence the formation and mobilisation of collective political identities in the differing political and social contexts of #EndSARS and #ThisFlag? To address this research question, the proposed study will employ a cross-national comparative case study approach of #EndSARS in Nigeria and #ThisFlag in Zimbabwe. The research utilises a mixed-methods approach also combining social network analysis with qualitative interviews.
First Supervisor:
Dr. Peter Brett
Publications:
Anakwue, N. (2017). Nietzschean will to power and the politics of personalities in public diplomacy. SocialScientia Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2(3): 1-15.
Anakwue, N. (2018). The African origins of Greek philosophy: Ancient Egypt in retrospect. Phronimon: Journal of the South African Society for Greek Philosophy and the Humanities, 18: 167-180.
Ogbechie, R. & Anakwue, N. (2018). Ethical principles and practices in Africa. In U. Uzo & A. Kinoti (Eds.). Indigenous management practices in Africa: A guide for educators and practitioners – Advanced Series in Management, Vol. 19. Bingley, UK: Emerald Publishers.
Anakwue, N. (2023). Re-centering Africa in the study of ancient philosophy: The legacy of ancient Egyptian philosophy. In M. Ward. & M. Umachandran (Ed.). Critical Ancient World Studies: The Case for Forgetting Classics. London: Routledge Publishers.
Social media: LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-anakwue/
X – https://twitter.com/dikeanakwue
Pathway: Pathway 13: PPPG