This four year research project seeks to strengthen public oversight of digital surveillance for intelligence purposes, with a specific focus on southern Africa. Digitisation has provided intelligence agencies with the capabilities to conduct surveillance at an unprecedented scale, which requires effective oversight to limit the potential for abuse. In many countries, oversight is usually carried out by official institutions such as Parliament, courts, independent statutory offices, or an ombudsman, whose role is to monitor and review surveillance capabilities to ensure that intelligence agencies use them effectively and lawfully.

However, across southern Africa - where digital surveillance is expanding - these official oversight institutions typically lack the power and resources to perform these functions. Consequently, oversight in these countries typically is conducted by the public through, for instance, challenging unjustifiable secrecy, publicising abuses and organising campaigns to rein these agencies in.

Through comparative case study research exploring lessons from key moments when public oversight has been attempted in the region, this research uses a mixed methods approach to explore these issues in eight southern African countries (Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo ((DRC)), Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Mozambique) and seeks to establish whether public oversight has succeeded, failed, or achieved mixed outcomes.

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Call for papers - Journal of Contemporary African Studies

Call for Papers: Special Issue on Public Oversight of Digital Surveillance in Africa

Submissions are invited for a special issue in the Journal of Contemporary African Studies aimed at enhancing public oversight of digital surveillance utilised for intelligence purposes, specifically relating to Africa. This special issue is derived from a research project directed by Prof. Jane Duncan, supported by a British Academy Global Professorship (2023-2027), which seeks to investigate public oversight mechanisms across eight Southern African nations: Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The Special Issue already includes comparative case studies from these eight countries, which will serve as the primary focus, offering valuable insights into efforts at public oversight and the varied outcomes—whether successful, failed, or inconsistent. These case studies aim to develop a comprehensive model for effective public oversight of digital surveillance, extending its relevance beyond the Southern African context. Contributions from, or about, other African countries are encouraged to further strengthen the arguments and broaden the scope of the issue.

Scope and Background

In an era where digital surveillance technologies have provided intelligence services with unparalleled capabilities, the need for effective oversight has reached an all-time high. Intelligence agencies are now able to collect, retain, and analyse data on an unprecedented scale, sometimes in partnership with private corporations. Although oversight institutions such as parliaments, courts, and ombudsmen often assume a pivotal role in monitoring these capabilities, many African nations are deficient in both the capacity and resources to execute effective oversight. Thus, public oversight, including the exposure of abuses, advocacy, and grassroots initiatives plays a critical role in curbing excessive surveillance practices.

Topics of Interest

Papers that explore the following themes are welcome, although submissions that fall outside these areas, but are relevant to the overall scope of the project, will also be considered.

  • Public Oversight mechanisms: Analyses of public oversight initiatives aimed at curbing intelligence-driven surveillance in Africa
  • Challenges of public oversight: Legal, societal, and resource-based barriers to public and institutional oversight in Africa.
  • Case Study Comparisons: Comparative research on successful and unsuccessful public oversight attempts across the continent.

Methodology

The special issue relies on qualitative, multi-methods approaches, mainly focusing on inductive, comparative case study research that develops public oversight ideas. Papers should engage critically with surveillance and intelligence practices and their oversight, particularly through the lens of Critical Surveillance Studies and Critical Intelligence Studies.

Submission Guidelines

We invite original articles of no more than 8,000 words (including references) that contribute to these themes. Submissions should be grounded in empirical research and must not have been previously published. The theoretical framework guiding this special issue is broadly located within the critical paradigm, emphasising surveillance as a mechanism for maintaining unjust social relations rather than purely as a privacy concern. More detailed submission guidelines are available here. 

Interested authors should submit their abstracts by 15 November 2024

Communication of outcome: 9 December 2024

Final submission of full paper to editors: 1 May 2025.

Publication of special issue: 1 July 2026

 

For any queries regarding this special issue, please contact:

Prof Jane Duncan –Jane.Duncan@glasgow.ac.uk

Prof Sarah Chiumbu – sarahc@uj.ac.za