This book critically examines the manifest and latent practices of surveillance in the southern African region, using case studies from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia, Botswana and Mozambique. The book demonstrates the growing role of super-powers in the construction and normalization of the surveillance state. It traces the digitization of surveillance practices to the rapid adoption of smart CCTV, facial recognition technologies and EMSI catchers. Through predictive policing mechanisms, state security agencies have appropriated digital media technologies for sentiment analysis, constant monitoring of digital footprints of security targets, and even deploying cyber-troops on popular social media platforms.
The authors argue that surveillance practices have thus been digitized with deleterious impact on the right to privacy, peaceful assembly and freedom of expression in the region. Furthermore, they argue that specific laws and regulations governing surveillance practices in the region are lagging behind. Finally, the book demonstrates how digital surveillance have significantly infiltrated the political, economic and social fabric of Southern Africa.
This book provides much needed systematic, cutting-edge research into the trends, practices, policies and geo-political interests at the center of surveillance practices in the region, providing a crucial link between human rights, such as freedom of privacy and expression, and political authoritarianism.
Author(s): Allen Munoriyarwa, Admire Mare
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 232
City: Cham
Preface
Acknowledgements
Contents
About the Authors
Abbreviations
List of Figures
Chapter 1: Introduction: Twists and Turns? From Analogue to Digital Surveillance
Definition of Surveillance
Historicizing Surveillance Regimes in Southern Africa
Metamorphosis and Shifts in Institutional Sites of Surveillance in Southern Africa
Democratization Conflicts, Surveillance States and the Chilling Effects in Southern Africa
COVID-19-Related Surveillance
Theorizing Surveillance
Panoptic Theories of Surveillance
Post-Panoptic Theories of Surveillance
Resisting Surveillance: Everyday Forms of Resistance
Methodological Approach
Key Arguments of This Book
Outline of the Book
References
Chapter 2: The Political Economy of Digital Surveillance: Actors, Powers and Interests
Introduction
A Critical Political Economy Approach to Surveillance
Too Close for Comfort? Surveillance Infrastructures in Zambia’s Smart City Projects
Weaponizing Surveillance: The Entanglement of Endemic Crime and Individual Politics in South Africa’s Surveillance Practices
The Political Economy of Military-Driven Digital Surveillance in Zimbabwe
Actors, Interests and Targets
Conclusion
References
Chapter 3: Regulating and Legislating Surveillance
Background
Defining Legislation and Regulation
An Overview of Literature on Surveillance Laws
International and Regional Frameworks on Surveillance and Privacy Issues
International Legal Instruments
Regional Legal Instruments
The Necessary and Proportionate Principles
Key Features of Surveillance Laws in the SADC Region
Grounds for Interception of Communications
Judicial Authorization
Protection for Metadata
Mandatory SIM Registration
Oversight and Transparency Mechanisms
User Notification
Conclusion
References
Chapter 4: Public Space and Communication Surveillance
Introduction
The Logic of Public Space and Communication Surveillance and Their Normalization in the Public Sphere
Rampant Crime, Fear of Terrorism and the Normalization of Surveillance
Digital Communication Surveillance Practices in Southern Africa
Infrastructures of Public Space Surveillance
The Growth of a ‘cottage industry’ of Surveillance
The Human Rights Conundrum in Public Space and Communication Surveillance Practices
Conclusion
References
Chapter 5: Mainstreaming Surveillance Through the Biometrification of Everyday Life
Background
Definitions, Debates and Discourses
Case Studies: Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe
Botswana
Namibia
South Africa
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Conclusion
References
Chapter 6: Quotidian Forms of Resistance to Surveillance
Introduction
The Logic of Resistance to Surveillance
Civic Societies, Vulnerable Constituencies and the Growing Anti-surveillance Crusade
Everyday Forms of Surveillance Resistance
Engagement and Litigation as a Resistance Strategy in South Africa: Actors and Power Relations
The Dilemmas of Litigation as a Surveillance Resistance Strategy in (Semi) Authoritarian Contexts
Whither Resistance? Existing Possibilities and Challenges to Resistance Against Digital Surveillance
Conclusion
References
Chapter 7: Conclusions: The Bigger Picture of Surveillance Futures
Introduction
What Are the Emerging Trends and Practices of Digital Surveillance Practices in Southern Africa?
What Does These Developments Tell Us About Surveillance Practices in the Region?
Looking into the Future: Towards Ubiquitous and Quotidian Platformveillance
Platformveillance and the Precarity of Citizens’ Rights
The Liquification and Normalization of Surveillance
‘Splinternet’ and the Future of Digital Surveillance
Towards Data Justice and Human Rights Respecting Surveillance Regimes
Concluding Remarks: Legislating and Governing Surveillance in the Age of Changing Technologies
References
Appendices
Country Profiles
Angola
Botswana
Eswatini
Malawi
Mozambique
Namibia
South Africa
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Index
