Call for Papers

Like political landscapes across the globe, African politics has been marked by a series of intriguing developments since many nations on the continent gained independence in the late 1950s and early 1960s. From Western to Eastern, and Southern to Northern countries, the African populace has borne witness to diverse forms of governance, resulting in both shared and disparate historical outcomes. Notably, the dynamics of democratic governance, encompassing responsiveness to citizens' needs, and economic and political issue resolution, have exhibited both commonalities and distinctions across countries of the region in recent times. This has, in certain instances, led to the return of military takeovers and sparked protests, new dimensions of conflicts and advocacy groups' activities by dissatisfied citizens in the region.

The breakdown of state structures has often precipitated the emergence of populist uprisings, conflicts, and other multifaceted crises that challenge democratic structuring and restructuring  (Allen, 1995; Monga, 1997; Bates, 2019; Thomson, 2022; Kasfir, 2023). Recent instances of coups in Sudan, Egypt, and West African nations like Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger underscore the persistent hurdles in establishing sustainable democracy, owing to ongoing economic and political uncertainties that foster discontent and disillusionment among both the military and civilian populations (Iyanda, 2023).

Simultaneously, as various actors pursue divergent interests in the pursuit of individual or collective gains, media stands as a strategic information tool. In theory, parties and stakeholders, all the actors, are expected to communicate accurate information through media channels to enhance comprehension of ambiguous matters and facilitate the resolution of socio-economic and political uncertainties. However, owing to information asymmetry and the manipulation inherent in information warfare, these parties and stakeholders often wittingly or unwittingly engage in information pollution. This manifests in multiple forms, including fake news, disinformation, hate speech, deepfakes, and satire, aimed at misleading unsuspecting parties and stakeholders. This trend has permeated African elections and conflicts (Wasserman & Madrid-Morales, 2018; Moyo, Mare & Mabweazara, 2020; Madrid-Morales, et al., 2020, Mustapha, 2022, Mustapha, 2023), facilitated by a media ecosystem that obscures meaningful information for individuals and groups (Kuehn, 2023).

Amidst these ongoing challenges as academia and other spheres continue to analyse African politics, we aim to contribute to the discourse on African politics and the media ecosystem, particularly concerning the surge of conflicts.

In this special issue the researchers will analyse diverse aspects of this theme, utilizing innovative research methodologies to critically examine existing theories and analytical frameworks, both from within and beyond the continent's political philosophy.

The submissions will leverage alternative media, extending beyond both traditional and contemporary media forms, shedding light on the intricate interplay between African politics and the evolving media landscape on the following topics:

• Investigating the political and economic dimensions of emerging media ecosystems during elections/conflicts.
• The interplay between protests, media, and democracy.
• Analyzing the connection between media, democracy and coup d'états.
• The intersection of mediated politics and economics in coup d'états.
• Exploration of African media, politics and conflicts in the post-truth era.
• Examination of fake news, misinformation, and disinformation in African political crises/elections.
• Exploring the impact of misinformation and disinformation on religious, ethnic and national conflicts.
• Innovative strategies for mitigating information pollution during elections/conflicts.
• Sustainability of fact-checking organisations in managing conflicts caused by information pollution.
• The role of African media in changing regional politics during conflicts.

The Editors

Isaac Bazié, Professor (Canada, Burkina Faso), Université du Québec à Montréal, Director of Laboratoire des Afriques Innovantes, President of Canadian Association of African Studies, Chief Editor of Journal Afroglobe/African Issues, in local and global Perspectives

Mustapha Muhammed Jamiu, PhD (Russia, Nigeria) RUDN University, Executive Director, Center for Research on Development of African Media, Governance and Society

Marina G. Shilina, Professor (Russia), the Special Issue Editor, Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, the African-Asian and International Studies Institute (Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso) and Group of Research on Identities and Cultures (Université le Havre, Normandie, France) scientific board member