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Digital Photogrammetry: A Practical Course
by Wilfried LinderPotential readers/users are students of Photogrammetry, Geodesy, Geography and other sciences, but also all who are interested in this topic. No prior knowledge is necessary, except the handling of standard PCs. Theory is presented true to the motto "as little as possible, but as much as necessary".The main part of the book contains several tutorials. In increasing complexity, accompanied by texts explaining further theory, the reader can proceed step by step through the particular working parts. Most of the standard work in Digital Photogrammetry is shown and trained for example scanning, image orientation, mono and stereo plotting, aerial triangulation measurement (manual and automatic), block adjustment, automatic creation of surface models via image matching, creation of ortho images and mosaics, and others. Not only standard situations are dealt with but also more complex ones, such as unknown camera data, extreme relief or areas with very low contrast. Examples of both aerial and close-range photogrammetry present the power of these type of measurement techniques.The software is not limited to the example data included but may be used for personal projects. Part of the book comprises a complete description of the software.
Digital Pirates: Policing Intellectual Property in Brazil
by Alexander Sebastian DentDigital Pirates examines the unauthorized creation, distribution, and consumption of movies and music in Brazil. Alexander Sebastian Dent offers a new definition of piracy as indispensable to current capitalism alongside increasing global enforcement of intellectual property (IP). Complex and capricious laws might prohibit it, but piracy remains a core activity of the twenty-first century. Combining the tools of linguistic and cultural anthropology with models from media studies and political economy, Digital Pirates reveals how the dynamics of IP and piracy serve as strategies for managing the gaps between texts—in this case, digital content. Dent's analysis includes his fieldwork in and around São Paulo with pirates, musicians, filmmakers, police, salesmen, technicians, policymakers, politicians, activists, and consumers. Rather than argue for rigid positions, he suggests that Brazilians are pulled in multiple directions according to the injunctions of international governance, localized pleasure, magical consumption, and economic efficiency. Through its novel theorization of "digital textuality," this book offers crucial insights into the qualities of today's mediascape as well as the particularized political and cultural norms that govern it. The book also shows how twenty-first century capitalism generates piracy and its enforcement simultaneously, while producing fraught consumer experiences in Latin America and beyond.
Digital Policy in the EU: Towards a Human-Centred Digital Transformation
by Werner StenggThis thought-provoking book follows the EU's journey into the digital age, explaining how it uses legislation and policy to tackle challenges such as the abuse of market power by Big Tech companies and the spread of hate speech and disinformation.Werner Stengg draws on his extensive experience in shaping digital policy to expertly analyse the EU’s ambitious legislative and innovation programme, which focuses on human rights and prioritises trustworthy, transparent, and accountable usage of digital technologies. Alongside this examination of legislation and policy, Stengg also outlines the EU’s major investment agenda into the digital infrastructures required to become a global player in our data-driven and AI-powered economy. Ultimately, the book highlights that innovations in the digital sphere are essential not only for the global competitiveness of European companies, but also for Europe to safeguard its resilience, autonomy, and technological sovereignty at a time of mounting geopolitical tensions.Comprehensive in scope, this book is an invaluable resource for students and academics in consumer law, European law, European politics and policy, human rights, internet and technology law, and regulation and governance. It is also a crucial read for professionals involved in EU-level policymaking.
Digital Political Communication Strategies: Multidisciplinary Reflections (The Palgrave Macmillan Series in International Political Communication)
by Berta García-OrosaThis book, with a foreword by Manuel Castells, explores the core strategies of digital political communication. It reviews the field’s evolution over the past 25 years and examines the coexistence of old and new actors (lobbyists, citizens, parliaments, political parties, media outlets, digital platforms, among others), as well as hybrid communication tactics. Topics covered include frames, fake news, filter bubbles, echo chambers, artificial intelligence, the significance of emotions, and engagement with citizens.As we find ourselves in the fourth wave of digital communication, and in the wake of a pandemic which has shaken the foundations of political communication, an evaluation of these topics is essential to the reinvention of democracy. The book is geared towards students and researchers who wish to delve into the latest trends in digital communication, political communication actors and journalists. It further aims to prepare citizens to effectively deal with messaging that blurs the line between truth and falsehood with increasingly powerful strategies supported by artificial intelligence.
Digital Political Cultures in the Middle East since the Arab Uprisings: Online Activism in Egypt, Tunisia and Lebanon (Political Communication and Media Practices in the Middle East and North Africa)
by Dounia MahloulyThis book offers a ten-year perspective on ongoing and evolving practices of digital activism across the Middle East and North Africa, drawing on interviews and ethnographic evidence collected between 2012 and 2022. It examines the shifting narrative around digital activism in the region, from the wake of the 2011 uprisings to the 2019 series of protests coined 'the second wave of the Arab Spring'. It considers how media activists navigate the transition from the emergent to the mainstream in a climate of contentious politics, following the civil mobilisations of the pro-revolutionary youths in Tunisia, Egypt, and Lebanon. It outlines the particularities of these three different political contexts and media environments, featuring case studies of the Tunisian blogosphere, online campaigning in the Egyptian elections and interviews with social media activists. In light of this empirical evidence, the book offers a critique of the increasing prevalence of a security perspective through which online activism has been viewed and its deleterious effect on digital political engagement in the region.
Digital Political Cultures in the Middle East since the Arab Uprisings: Online Activism in Egypt, Tunisia and Lebanon (Political Communication and Media Practices in the Middle East and North Africa)
by Dounia MahloulyThis book offers a ten-year perspective on ongoing and evolving practices of digital activism across the Middle East and North Africa, drawing on interviews and ethnographic evidence collected between 2012 and 2022. It examines the shifting narrative around digital activism in the region, from the wake of the 2011 uprisings to the 2019 series of protests coined 'the second wave of the Arab Spring'. It considers how media activists navigate the transition from the emergent to the mainstream in a climate of contentious politics, following the civil mobilisations of the pro-revolutionary youths in Tunisia, Egypt, and Lebanon. It outlines the particularities of these three different political contexts and media environments, featuring case studies of the Tunisian blogosphere, online campaigning in the Egyptian elections and interviews with social media activists. In light of this empirical evidence, the book offers a critique of the increasing prevalence of a security perspective through which online activism has been viewed and its deleterious effect on digital political engagement in the region.
Digital Political Participation, Social Networks and Big Data: Disintermediation in the Era of Web 2.0
by José Manuel Robles-Morales Ana María Córdoba-HernándezThis book explores the changes in political communication in light of the development of a public opinion mediated by web 2.0 technologies. One of the most important changes in political communication is related to the process of disintermediation, i.e. the process by which digital technologies allow citizens to compete in the public space with those agents who, traditionally, co-opted public opinion. However, while disintermediation has undeniably generated a number of advances, having linked citizens to the public debate, the authors highlight some aspects where disintermediation is moving away from a rational and inclusive public space. They argue that these aspects, related to the immediacy, polarization and incivility of the communication, obscure the possibilities for democratization of digital political communication.
Digital Politics, Digital Histories, Digital Futures: New Approaches for Historicising, Politicising and Imagining the Digital (Digital Activism And Society: Politics, Economy And Culture In Network Communication)
by ADI KUNTSMAN, LIU XINGlobal politics has been completely transformed by the rise of digitalisation and the politicised use of everyday digital communication tools by ordinary people in citizen engagement and mass protest. And yet, digital politics as a field is rarely explored holistically and interdisciplinary beyond a narrow focus on digital activism, digital warfare or Internet governance. Digital Politics, Digital Histories, Digital Futures addresses this gap. Bringing together contributions from junior and experienced scholars, the book examines digital politics theoretically, methodologically, and ethically, offering interdisciplinary perspectives and innovative pedagogies. The first part of the book presents research chapters that look at misinformation and reactionary online activism, digital imperialism and capitalism, future internet governance, digital memory, digital waste, and environmental imagination. The second part showcases several creative and experimental tools for studying digital politics historically, and for analysing and creating future imaginaries of digital politics. By sharing these tools and reflecting on the process of their creation, the book aims to simultaneously push the boundaries of, and inspire new teaching and research in, the field of digital politics.
Digital Politics, Digital Histories, Digital Futures: New Approaches for Historicising, Politicising and Imagining the Digital (Digital Activism And Society: Politics, Economy And Culture In Network Communication)
by Adi Kuntsman Liu XinGlobal politics has been completely transformed by the rise of digitalisation and the politicised use of everyday digital communication tools by ordinary people in citizen engagement and mass protest. And yet, digital politics as a field is rarely explored holistically and interdisciplinary beyond a narrow focus on digital activism, digital warfare or Internet governance. Digital Politics, Digital Histories, Digital Futures addresses this gap. Bringing together contributions from junior and experienced scholars, the book examines digital politics theoretically, methodologically, and ethically, offering interdisciplinary perspectives and innovative pedagogies. The first part of the book presents research chapters that look at misinformation and reactionary online activism, digital imperialism and capitalism, future internet governance, digital memory, digital waste, and environmental imagination. The second part showcases several creative and experimental tools for studying digital politics historically, and for analysing and creating future imaginaries of digital politics. By sharing these tools and reflecting on the process of their creation, the book aims to simultaneously push the boundaries of, and inspire new teaching and research in, the field of digital politics.
Digital Politics in Western Democracies: A Comparative Study
by Cristian VaccariDigital politics is shorthand for how internet technologies have fueled the complex interactions between political actors and their constituents. Cristian Vaccari analyzes the presentation and consumption of online politics in seven advanced Western democracies—Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States—from 2006 to 2010. His study not only refutes claims that the web creates homogenized American-style politics and political interaction but also empirically reveals how a nation’s unique constraints and opportunities create digital responses. Digital Politics in Western Democracies is the first large-scale comparative treatment of both the supply and the demand sides of digital politics among different countries and national political actors. It is divided into four parts: theoretical challenges and research methodology; how parties and candidates structure their websites (supply); how citizens use the websites to access campaign information (demand); and how the research results tie back to inequalities, engagement, and competition in digital politics. Because a key aspect of any political system is how its actors and citizens communicate, this book will be invaluable for scholars, students, and practitioners interested in political communication, party competition, party organization, and the study of the contemporary media landscape writ large.
Digital Politics in Western Democracies: A Comparative Study
by Cristian VaccariDigital politics is shorthand for how internet technologies have fueled the complex interactions between political actors and their constituents. Cristian Vaccari analyzes the presentation and consumption of online politics in seven advanced Western democracies—Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States—from 2006 to 2010. His study not only refutes claims that the web creates homogenized American-style politics and political interaction but also empirically reveals how a nation’s unique constraints and opportunities create digital responses. Digital Politics in Western Democracies is the first large-scale comparative treatment of both the supply and the demand sides of digital politics among different countries and national political actors. It is divided into four parts: theoretical challenges and research methodology; how parties and candidates structure their websites (supply); how citizens use the websites to access campaign information (demand); and how the research results tie back to inequalities, engagement, and competition in digital politics. Because a key aspect of any political system is how its actors and citizens communicate, this book will be invaluable for scholars, students, and practitioners interested in political communication, party competition, party organization, and the study of the contemporary media landscape writ large.
Digital Privacy, Terrorism and Law Enforcement: The UK's Response to Terrorist Communication (Routledge Research in Terrorism and the Law)
by Simon Hale-RossThis book examines the UK’s response to terrorist communication. Its principle question asks, has individual privacy and collective security been successfully managed and balanced? The author begins by assessing several technologically-based problems facing British law enforcement agencies, including use of the Internet; the existence of ‘darknet’; untraceable Internet telephone calls and messages; smart encrypted device direct messaging applications; and commercially available encryption software. These problems are then related to the traceability and typecasting of potential terrorists, showing that law enforcement agencies are searching for needles in the ever-expanding haystacks. To this end, the book examines the bulk powers of digital surveillance introduced by the Investigatory Powers Act 2016. The book then moves on to assess whether these new powers and the new legislative safeguards introduced are compatible with international human rights standards. The author creates a ‘digital rights criterion’ from which to challenge the bulk surveillance powers against human rights norms. Lord Carlile of Berriew CBE QC in recommending this book notes this particular legal advancement, commenting that rightly so the author concludes the UK has fairly balanced individual privacy with collective security. The book further analyses the potential impact on intelligence exchange between the EU and the UK, following Brexit. Using the US as a case study, the book shows that UK laws must remain within the ambit of EU law and the Court of Justice of the European Union's (CJEU's) jurisprudence, to maintain the effectiveness of the exchange. It addresses the topics with regard to terrorism and counterterrorism methods and will be of interest to researchers, academics, professionals, and students researching counterterrorism and digital electronic communications, international human rights, data protection, and international intelligence exchange.
Digital Privacy, Terrorism and Law Enforcement: The UK's Response to Terrorist Communication (Routledge Research in Terrorism and the Law)
by Simon Hale-RossThis book examines the UK’s response to terrorist communication. Its principle question asks, has individual privacy and collective security been successfully managed and balanced? The author begins by assessing several technologically-based problems facing British law enforcement agencies, including use of the Internet; the existence of ‘darknet’; untraceable Internet telephone calls and messages; smart encrypted device direct messaging applications; and commercially available encryption software. These problems are then related to the traceability and typecasting of potential terrorists, showing that law enforcement agencies are searching for needles in the ever-expanding haystacks. To this end, the book examines the bulk powers of digital surveillance introduced by the Investigatory Powers Act 2016. The book then moves on to assess whether these new powers and the new legislative safeguards introduced are compatible with international human rights standards. The author creates a ‘digital rights criterion’ from which to challenge the bulk surveillance powers against human rights norms. Lord Carlile of Berriew CBE QC in recommending this book notes this particular legal advancement, commenting that rightly so the author concludes the UK has fairly balanced individual privacy with collective security. The book further analyses the potential impact on intelligence exchange between the EU and the UK, following Brexit. Using the US as a case study, the book shows that UK laws must remain within the ambit of EU law and the Court of Justice of the European Union's (CJEU's) jurisprudence, to maintain the effectiveness of the exchange. It addresses the topics with regard to terrorism and counterterrorism methods and will be of interest to researchers, academics, professionals, and students researching counterterrorism and digital electronic communications, international human rights, data protection, and international intelligence exchange.
Digital Protest and Activism in Public Education: Reactions to Neoliberal Restructuring in Israel (Emerald Points)
by Izhak Berkovich Amit Avigur-EshelDigital protest and activism in reaction to the consequences of neoliberalism in public education have become a global phenomenon in the second decade of the 21st century, emerging in countries such as the US, UK, France, and Israel. Teachers, parents, and other stakeholders in education are increasingly using digital media in their protest and activism efforts, yet these efforts have hardly been investigated to date.This book addresses this gap and employs an empirical exploration of the way in which Internet-based protest activity concerning public education issues is constructed, mobilised, and carried out. In doing so it provides key insights for the study of educational politics in the digital age. It shows how digital media is used by teachers and parents to create a bottom-up politics, spanning a common divide in the study of education politics between the macro (policymaking) and the micro (school) levels. The authors propose a novel taxonomy of uses of social media by digital activists, and argue that Internet-based social mobilisations develop different patterns of use of social media, based on the lived experience of their members and potential supporters. Finally, the book situates the rise of digital activism in education within the neoliberal restructuring of national education systems and the rise of neoliberal discourse of competition, budget discipline, and measurable achievements. The authors highlight three cases of Internet-based mobilisations in Israel, in which teachers and parents successfully affected public education policy. By providing a case-study driven analysis of digital protest and activism in education, this book will prove an invaluable text for researchers, leaders and practitioners in the field of education policy and comparative education.
Digital Protest and Activism in Public Education: Reactions to Neoliberal Restructuring in Israel (Emerald Points)
by Izhak Berkovich Amit Avigur-EshelDigital protest and activism in reaction to the consequences of neoliberalism in public education have become a global phenomenon in the second decade of the 21st century, emerging in countries such as the US, UK, France, and Israel. Teachers, parents, and other stakeholders in education are increasingly using digital media in their protest and activism efforts, yet these efforts have hardly been investigated to date.This book addresses this gap and employs an empirical exploration of the way in which Internet-based protest activity concerning public education issues is constructed, mobilised, and carried out. In doing so it provides key insights for the study of educational politics in the digital age. It shows how digital media is used by teachers and parents to create a bottom-up politics, spanning a common divide in the study of education politics between the macro (policymaking) and the micro (school) levels. The authors propose a novel taxonomy of uses of social media by digital activists, and argue that Internet-based social mobilisations develop different patterns of use of social media, based on the lived experience of their members and potential supporters. Finally, the book situates the rise of digital activism in education within the neoliberal restructuring of national education systems and the rise of neoliberal discourse of competition, budget discipline, and measurable achievements. The authors highlight three cases of Internet-based mobilisations in Israel, in which teachers and parents successfully affected public education policy. By providing a case-study driven analysis of digital protest and activism in education, this book will prove an invaluable text for researchers, leaders and practitioners in the field of education policy and comparative education.
Digital Research Methods and the Diaspora: Assembling Transnational Networks with and Beyond Digital Data
by Dang NguyenThe computational turn in the social sciences and humanities has generated much excitement about the potential to refresh our approaches to the study of the techno-social. From natively digital to digitised data, researchers of digital diasporas increasingly find themselves working with a range of disparate digital objects. These digital objects can include anything from hyperlink to timestamps, from platform behavioural metrics such as react, share, or retweet to different media formats such as text, image, pre-recorded or livestreamed videos. Taking these disparate objects into account, this book introduces digital methods as research strategies not only for dealing with the ephemeral and unstable nature of tracing the diaspora with digital data, but also for reconceptualizing digital diasporas as assemblages and networks of more-than-human actors. The book also introduces a range of theoretical perspectives and methodological techniques to studying digital diasporas as contingent and processual hybrid collectives of heterogeneous material, cultural, and practice-based assemblages. This book will be essential reading for students and scholars interested in the digital space and transnational communities.
Digital Research Methods and the Diaspora: Assembling Transnational Networks with and Beyond Digital Data
by Dang NguyenThe computational turn in the social sciences and humanities has generated much excitement about the potential to refresh our approaches to the study of the techno-social. From natively digital to digitised data, researchers of digital diasporas increasingly find themselves working with a range of disparate digital objects. These digital objects can include anything from hyperlink to timestamps, from platform behavioural metrics such as react, share, or retweet to different media formats such as text, image, pre-recorded or livestreamed videos. Taking these disparate objects into account, this book introduces digital methods as research strategies not only for dealing with the ephemeral and unstable nature of tracing the diaspora with digital data, but also for reconceptualizing digital diasporas as assemblages and networks of more-than-human actors. The book also introduces a range of theoretical perspectives and methodological techniques to studying digital diasporas as contingent and processual hybrid collectives of heterogeneous material, cultural, and practice-based assemblages. This book will be essential reading for students and scholars interested in the digital space and transnational communities.
The Digital Rights Delusion: Humans, Machines and the Technology of Information
by Andrea MontiThis book examines the ever-increasing impact of technology on our lives and explores a range of legal and constitutional questions that this raises. It considers the extent to which concepts such as 'cyberspace' and 'digital rights' advance or undermine our understanding of this development and proposes a number of novel approaches to the effective protection of our rights in this rapidly evolving environment. Finally, it shows how the abuse of the adjective digital has demoted legal rights into subjective and individual claims. The work will be of particular interest to scholars of privacy, artificial intelligence and free speech, as well as policymakers and the general reader.
The Digital Rights Delusion: Humans, Machines and the Technology of Information
by Andrea MontiThis book examines the ever-increasing impact of technology on our lives and explores a range of legal and constitutional questions that this raises. It considers the extent to which concepts such as 'cyberspace' and 'digital rights' advance or undermine our understanding of this development and proposes a number of novel approaches to the effective protection of our rights in this rapidly evolving environment. Finally, it shows how the abuse of the adjective digital has demoted legal rights into subjective and individual claims. The work will be of particular interest to scholars of privacy, artificial intelligence and free speech, as well as policymakers and the general reader.
Digital Shutdowns and Social Media: Spatiality, Political Economy and Internet Shutdowns in India (Springer Geography)
by Shekh MoinuddinThis book offers a spatial insights on the social mediasphere in the context of digital shutdowns and reflects the dimensions of political economy and of social media in general. Internet shutdowns have been found to be more prevalent in developing countries than in developed countries, with India leading in Internet shutdowns in the world. Internet shutdowns have occurred in India for several reasons, mainly to hinder the spreading of information through social media – this is discussed in detail along with political motives behind this and how this can conflict with government policies, such as the flagship program “Digital India” which is ostensibly meant to improve the infrastructure and expansion of digital information throughout the country. This book suggests new dimensions in the digital spatiality. Furthermore, the digital space is defined and discussed, including its role and how this might be reflected in concepts around spatiality and spaces. More concretely, the book considers the following questions: How is social media reflected in spatial sciences? How does the space differ from more tangible spaces, such as the hydrosphere or atmosphere? How do (computer/mobile phone) screens behave as a space/place in the context of behavioural sciences? How is this reflected in what is shaping and reshaping the spatiality of digital gadgets? Do digital gadgets change the socialization process that’s often considered a path towards how we develop in society? How do internet shutdowns affect the political economy and what patterns can be seen in how individuals, companies and the internet industry in particular react to these shutdowns in India?
The Digital Silk Road: China’s Technological Rise and the Geopolitics of Cyberspace (Adelphi series)
by David Gordon Meia NouwensConcerns about China’s ambitions to return to global centre stage as a great power have recently begun to focus on the Digital Silk Road (DSR), an umbrella term for various activities – commercial and diplomatic – of interest to the Chinese government in the cyber realm. Part of (or a spin-off from) the 2013 Belt and Road Initiative, by 2020 the DSR had become a focal point of China’s foreign policy. But the DSR remains ill-defined and poorly understood. At the heart of such concerns is not that Chinese technology companies are becoming globally competitive, but rather that Beijing could use them to ‘rewire’ the global digital architecture, from physical cables to code. Dominance by Chinese technology could shift global norms from a free cyber commons to competing systems of cyber sovereignty or cyber freedom. This Adelphi book brings together eight experts to examine the development of the DSR, explore its impact on economics, security and governance in recipient countries, and assess the broader impact on patterns of economic and technological dependence, on the emerging rules and norms of tech globalisation, and on global geopolitics and great-power relations. Beijing has grasped the opportunity to leverage the entrepreneurial strengths of its private tech sector to gain prominence in the world’s digital ecosystem. But the more interventionist Beijing becomes, the more Chinese firms will be seen as instruments of the state, and the greater the pushback against Chinese technology and the DSR may be. To achieve great-power status and global centrality, Beijing might ultimately need to change tack. How it innovates in further rolling out Chinese tech across the world, and what the DSR will then look like, will have far-reaching impacts on global economics, politics and security.
The Digital Silk Road: China’s Technological Rise and the Geopolitics of Cyberspace (Adelphi series)
Concerns about China’s ambitions to return to global centre stage as a great power have recently begun to focus on the Digital Silk Road (DSR), an umbrella term for various activities – commercial and diplomatic – of interest to the Chinese government in the cyber realm. Part of (or a spin-off from) the 2013 Belt and Road Initiative, by 2020 the DSR had become a focal point of China’s foreign policy. But the DSR remains ill-defined and poorly understood. At the heart of such concerns is not that Chinese technology companies are becoming globally competitive, but rather that Beijing could use them to ‘rewire’ the global digital architecture, from physical cables to code. Dominance by Chinese technology could shift global norms from a free cyber commons to competing systems of cyber sovereignty or cyber freedom. This Adelphi book brings together eight experts to examine the development of the DSR, explore its impact on economics, security and governance in recipient countries, and assess the broader impact on patterns of economic and technological dependence, on the emerging rules and norms of tech globalisation, and on global geopolitics and great-power relations. Beijing has grasped the opportunity to leverage the entrepreneurial strengths of its private tech sector to gain prominence in the world’s digital ecosystem. But the more interventionist Beijing becomes, the more Chinese firms will be seen as instruments of the state, and the greater the pushback against Chinese technology and the DSR may be. To achieve great-power status and global centrality, Beijing might ultimately need to change tack. How it innovates in further rolling out Chinese tech across the world, and what the DSR will then look like, will have far-reaching impacts on global economics, politics and security.
Digital Skills: Unlocking the Information Society (Digital Education and Learning)
by Alexander J. van Deursen Jan A. van DijkThe first book to systematically discuss the skills and literacies needed to use digital media, particularly the Internet, van Dijk and van Deursen's clear and accessible work distinguishes digital skills, analyzes their roles and prevalence, and offers solutions from individual, educational, sociological, and policy perspectives.
The Digital Sovereignty Trap: Avoiding the Return of Silos and a Divided World (SpringerBriefs in International Relations)
by Thorsten JelinekThis book is for policy-makers navigating the digital transformation. Global governance is needed to mitigate the disproportionate risks of artificial intelligence but is in a state of deep crisis. Revisiting the era of telecommunication monopolies, this book argues that today’s return of sovereignty resembles the great reregulation, but of the entire digital economy. Breaking through the previous asymmetrical distribution of technology and institutional power, China threatens the United States’ technology hegemony. The task is to avert from the straitjacket of hyperdigitalization without causing new silos.
Digital Surveillance in Southern Africa: Policies, Politics and Practices
by Allen Munoriyarwa Admire MareThis 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.