Research project
Negotiating Africa’s digital partnerships is a 2-year policy research project that will examine the politics of Africa’s relations with rising partners among which China in the digital economy with a view to generating valuable empirical insights and informing academics and policymakers.
The project is led by the Blavatnik School of Government at University of Oxford (UK) with financial support from the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) (Canada). Partnerships will be established with Africa-based research centers.
Negotiating in a context of global rivalry
The project aims to look specifically at how African governmental actors negotiate and manage partnerships in the digital sector with new and rising partners (digital connectivity, infrastructure, positions on digital governance in multilateral organisations, establishing digital norms domestically and regionally) in a context of great power rivalries especially US-China rivalry.
Project objectives
The research will center on African actors, and their variable interests, shedding valuable insights into these digital partnerships from the vantage point of African governments. It will build on scholarship on negotiation, bureaucratic politics and governance studies and the study of (African) agency in global affairs. The project aims to connect extensively with senior African policymakers and ministers in charge of building and maintaining these strategic partnerships both in francophone and anglophone Africa and will act as an incubator to develop sound policies to strengthen their negotiation capacities and strategies of engagement with rising partners in the digital sector.
Publications
An interview series led by Dr Folashade Soule with African senior policymakers, ministers, private and civic actors aims to shed a light on how African actors build, negotiate and manage strategic partnerships in the digital sector in a context of geopolitical rivalry.
Policy briefs
De-risking Digitalization via Joint Ventures: The Case of Togo,
Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI),
Policy brief n°186,
June 2024
Download the policy brief at CIGI
Digital Sovereignty in Africa: Moving beyond Local Data Ownership,
Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI),
Policy brief n°185,
June 2024
Download the policy brief at CIGI
Navigating Africa’s digital partnerships in a context of global rivalry,
Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI),
Policy brief n°180,
October 2023
Download the policy brief at CIGI
Reports
Rivalités géopolitiques et partenariats numériques en Afrique. Stratégies d’adaptation et défis
Etudes de l’IFRI
December 2023
Download the report at IFRI
Special report - Negotiating Africa’s Digital Partnerships amid Geopolitical Competition
Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI),
September 2024
Download the special report at CIGI
Project team
Folashadé Soulé, Blavatnik School of Government, Principal Investigator
Emily Jones, Blavatnik School of Government, Principal Investigator
Leslie Mills, Research Assistant