MACMILLAN Social Media and Elections in Africa, Volume 1: Theoretical Perspectives and Election Campaigns

This book brings together fresh evidence and new theoretical frameworks in a unique analysis of the increasing role of social media in political campaigns and electoral processes across Africa. Supported by contemporary and historical cases studies, it engages with the main drives behind the various appropriations of social media for election campaigns, organization, and voter mobilization. Contributors in this volume delve into changing and complex aspects of social media, offering an appraisal of theoretical perspectives and examining fascinating case studies which social media use is redefining elections across Africa. Contributions show that new media ecologies are resulting in new policy regimes, user behaviors, and communication models that have implications for electoral processes. The book also provides preliminary analysis of emerging forms of algorithm-driven campaigns, fake news, information distortions and other methods that undermine electoral democracy in Africa. Review “Ndlela and Mano’s book provides an original contribution to its field. The contributions deliver fresh and lively analysis of social media and elections in Africa, and are all-encompassing and comprehensive in their range.” (Bruce Mutsvairo, Professor of Journalism, Auburn University, USA) From the Back Cover This book brings together fresh evidence and new theoretical frameworks in a unique analysis of the increasing role of social media in political campaigns and electoral processes across Africa. Supported by contemporary and historical cases studies, it engages with the main drives behind the various appropriations of social media for election campaigns, organization, and voter mobilization. Contributors in this volume delve into changing and complex aspects of social media, offering an appraisal of theoretical perspectives and examining fascinating case studies which social media use is redefining elections across Africa. Contributions show that new media ecologies are resulting in new policy regimes, user behaviors, and communication models that have implications for electoral processes. The book also provides preliminary analysis of emerging forms of algorithm-driven campaigns, fake news, information distortions and other methods that undermine electoral democracy in Africa. About the Author Martin N. Ndlela is Associate Professor at the School of Business and Social Sciences, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, and Research Associate at the Department of Strategic Communication at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. He is a co-editor of the Journal of African Media Studies.Winston Mano is Reader and member of the Communication Research Institute’s Global Media Research Network. Mano is also the Principal Editor of the Journal of African Media Studies and a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa.