Evrard IKONDZA MAFAMA

Thesis Title: African Diasporas and Political Participation: The Case of Cyberactivism Among Gabonese Living Abroad.

Abstract in French

Cyberactivism, as an innovative practice for expressing citizenship, engagement, or activism in recent years, has emerged as an initiative aimed at transforming the social, economic, political, and cultural landscape of the African continent. Indeed, the spectacular development of new information and communication technologies (NICTs) in recent years has opened up a new space for political participation, mobilization, engagement, and dissent within authoritarian regimes. For African diasporas, the question is how digital technologies have made it possible to reinvent popular modes of participation in public debate concerning their countries of origin within a migratory context. In light of this, the present project aims to examine the dynamics of protest and political struggle within the Gabonese diaspora through the lens of ICT use. The Gabonese diaspora communities examined here will be those engaged in cyberactivism around the world—particularly those based in France, the United States, Canada, and Belgium—who engage in cyberactivism through political protest and by refusing to recognize the ruling regime and its leader. To understand the political participation of Gabonese abroad in the digital age, analyzing this topic requires us to adopt a dynamic approach that acknowledges a concept that varies over time and space depending on the resources available to individuals at any given moment. This approach allows us to observe the evolution of democratic practices, the renewal of political participation practices, and the sociopolitical transformations that this engenders.

Keywords in French
Gabon – Diaspora – Political participation – Mobilization – Online social movements – Cyberactivism
Thesis Advisor: Eric Savarese