Cyber governance in Africa: at the crossroads of politics, sovereignty and cooperation
AbstractAfrica has recently focused on an ambition to achieve digital transformation through the pursuit of various flagship initiatives which are aimed at achieving its ‘Agenda 2063’ objectives. Digital transformation will be better achieved through appropriate cyber governance policies and mechani...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Policy Design and Practice |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/25741292.2023.2199960 |
| _version_ | 1797806112599179264 |
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| author | Nnenna Ifeanyi-Ajufo |
| author_facet | Nnenna Ifeanyi-Ajufo |
| author_sort | Nnenna Ifeanyi-Ajufo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | AbstractAfrica has recently focused on an ambition to achieve digital transformation through the pursuit of various flagship initiatives which are aimed at achieving its ‘Agenda 2063’ objectives. Digital transformation will be better achieved through appropriate cyber governance policies and mechanisms, and the success of Africa’s Digital Transformation Strategy 2020-2030 hinges on diverse factors. According to the Strategy, African governments have a fundamental responsibility to create an enabling environment, with policies and regulations that promote digital transformation across foundation pillars, which include cybersecurity. The Strategy also stipulates the need to reinforce the region’s human and institutional capacity to secure the cyberspace by building trust and confidence in the use of cyber technologies. The aim of the paper is to examine Africa’s cyber governance agenda in relation to peace and security. While there are political dimensions to determining the thresholds of such discourses in Africa, the uncertainties of governance mechanisms, political underpinnings and limitations in digital capacity may mean that international standards of cyber governance have merely been theoretical in the African context. The paper examines Africa’s extant policies and political strategies for cyber governance, and the region’s interaction with international cyber governance processes. The paper further discusses the prospects and challenges to cyber governance in the region, and the approaches to leveraging international cooperation in promoting cyber stability in the region. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T06:02:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8e45ff11d1e0416987b37764b17f263e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2574-1292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T06:02:21Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Policy Design and Practice |
| spelling | doaj.art-8e45ff11d1e0416987b37764b17f263e2023-06-12T11:24:39ZengTaylor & Francis GroupPolicy Design and Practice2574-12922023-04-016214615910.1080/25741292.2023.2199960Cyber governance in Africa: at the crossroads of politics, sovereignty and cooperationNnenna Ifeanyi-Ajufo0School of Law, University of Bradford, Bradford, EnglandAbstractAfrica has recently focused on an ambition to achieve digital transformation through the pursuit of various flagship initiatives which are aimed at achieving its ‘Agenda 2063’ objectives. Digital transformation will be better achieved through appropriate cyber governance policies and mechanisms, and the success of Africa’s Digital Transformation Strategy 2020-2030 hinges on diverse factors. According to the Strategy, African governments have a fundamental responsibility to create an enabling environment, with policies and regulations that promote digital transformation across foundation pillars, which include cybersecurity. The Strategy also stipulates the need to reinforce the region’s human and institutional capacity to secure the cyberspace by building trust and confidence in the use of cyber technologies. The aim of the paper is to examine Africa’s cyber governance agenda in relation to peace and security. While there are political dimensions to determining the thresholds of such discourses in Africa, the uncertainties of governance mechanisms, political underpinnings and limitations in digital capacity may mean that international standards of cyber governance have merely been theoretical in the African context. The paper examines Africa’s extant policies and political strategies for cyber governance, and the region’s interaction with international cyber governance processes. The paper further discusses the prospects and challenges to cyber governance in the region, and the approaches to leveraging international cooperation in promoting cyber stability in the region.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/25741292.2023.2199960Africacyber governancedigital transformationcyber politicsdigital sovereignty |
| spellingShingle | Nnenna Ifeanyi-Ajufo Cyber governance in Africa: at the crossroads of politics, sovereignty and cooperation Policy Design and Practice Africa cyber governance digital transformation cyber politics digital sovereignty |
| title | Cyber governance in Africa: at the crossroads of politics, sovereignty and cooperation |
| title_full | Cyber governance in Africa: at the crossroads of politics, sovereignty and cooperation |
| title_fullStr | Cyber governance in Africa: at the crossroads of politics, sovereignty and cooperation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cyber governance in Africa: at the crossroads of politics, sovereignty and cooperation |
| title_short | Cyber governance in Africa: at the crossroads of politics, sovereignty and cooperation |
| title_sort | cyber governance in africa at the crossroads of politics sovereignty and cooperation |
| topic | Africa cyber governance digital transformation cyber politics digital sovereignty |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/25741292.2023.2199960 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT nnennaifeanyiajufo cybergovernanceinafricaatthecrossroadsofpoliticssovereigntyandcooperation |