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15942. The Impact of Covid-19 on the Women, Peace and Security Agenda.
- Author:
- Kari M. Osland, Maria Gilen Røysamb, and Jenny Nortvedt
- Publication Date:
- 05-2020
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- Summary: • Women appear to be disproportionately affected by Covid-19 • Pushback on global commitment to gender equality • Gender equality and human development are correlated: focussing on gender equality will have a catalytic effect on the SDGs • The increasing strain on peace operations is likely to have a negative effect on the WPS agenda.
- Topic:
- Security, International Organization, United Nations, Women, Peace, Pandemic, and COVID-19
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
15943. Conventional arms control on the Korean Peninsula: The current state and prospects
- Author:
- Yong-Sup Han
- Publication Date:
- 05-2020
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- At the end of 2017, the Korean Peninsula reached the brink of a nuclear war, as the US president Donald Trump and the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un exchanged words of nuclear threats each other. A tug of war as to whose nuclear button is bigger and stronger exacerbated the nuclear crisis. However, the South Korean President Moon Jae-in intervened to resolve the crisis by taking advantage of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. In doing so, President Moon intended to pursue denuclearisation and peace-building on the Korean Peninsula at the same time. North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un responded positively to the South Korean call to hold the inter-Korean summit and the Trump-Kim summit. In order to end the Korean war and promote peace-building on the Korean Peninsula including termination of hostile acts on inter-Korean relations, the two Koreas adopted the April 27 Panmunjom Declaration, the September 19th Pyongyang Joint Declaration and the Inter-Korean Military Agreement at their summit in 2018. The Military Agreement is aimed at reducing tension and building trust between the two Koreas through conventional arms control, while the North Korean nuclear issue is being resolved through the US-DPRK summit. The September 19th Military Agreement is a modest but remarkable success in arms control history when compared with a long-term stalemate or even retreat in the contemporary international arms control arena. Indeed, arms control is at its lowest point in history, so dim are its prospects. Nevertheless, heated debates are taking place, both at home inside South Korea and abroad, over the legitimacy and rationality of the Sept. 19th Military Agreement. With little progress on the denuclearisation issue at the Kim-Trump summit and no sign of easing economic sanctions on Pyongyang, North Korea has test-fired short-range missiles ten times to exert pressure on the United States, undermining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. Against this backdrop, this policy brief intends to analyse the true meaning of the September 19 Military Agreement between the two Koreas, to identify its problems and policy implications in order to draw up supplementary measures to implement it successfully. Furthermore, the paper will draw some implications for the relationship between progress on North Korea’s denuclearisation issue and further conventional arms control on the Korean Peninsula.
- Topic:
- Conflict Prevention, Security, Arms Control and Proliferation, and Treaties and Agreements
- Political Geography:
- South Korea, North Korea, North America, and United States of America
15944. COVID-19 in Latin America: Challenges, responses, and consequences
- Author:
- Peder Østebø and Vegard Bye
- Publication Date:
- 05-2020
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- While containment efforts were quickly implemented in many countries, COVID-19 may still prove to have a long-lasting effect in Latin America, a region already marked by economic disarray and political instability. Economic projections suggest that Latin American economies will be among the most affected by the current halt in global trade and consumption. As many countries have recently faced political turmoil, massive containment efforts raise a number of questions on legitimacy and citizen-state relations. In some countries, democratic processes essential for the upholding of democratic legitimacy have been halted. In Brazil, the central government’s handling of the crisis has been an important factor contributing to a severe political crisis. A geopolitical vacuum may provide China with an opportunity to increase its importance for the region.
- Topic:
- Economics, Geopolitics, Pandemic, COVID-19, and Destabilization
- Political Geography:
- China and Latin America
15945. The spiralling effects of the Sino-American trade war
- Author:
- Marc Lanteigne
- Publication Date:
- 06-2020
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- Almost two years ago, China and the United States instigated a trade conflict which has had serious international effects, a situation since exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. What has truly made a solution to this conflict elusive, however, is that its origins lie well beyond questions of trade deficits and fair competition, and are instead based on the looming question of a power transition between to the two states. The effects of this divergence are beginning to be observed in several economic realms, including the financial and the technological. Many other actors in the global economy have begun to experience the side effects of this completion, and may now have to face difficult choices about how to balance between these two emerging poles in the current fragile global economy.
- Topic:
- Economic Growth, Conflict, Trade, and COVID-19
- Political Geography:
- China, Asia, North America, and United States of America
15946. Intergovernmental checkmate on cyber? Processes on cyberspace in the United Nations
- Author:
- Erik Kursetgjerde
- Publication Date:
- 10-2020
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- Cyberspace is an increasingly controversial field on the international agenda. Despite the fact that processes on the thematic have been going on in the UN since 1998, a more significant international agreement is needed on what basic principles should apply in cyberspace. Small states have the opportunity of pushing cybersecurity as a thematic priority in the United Nations Security Council – a path Norway could pursue in its forthcoming 2021–2022 Security Council term. The attribution of the assumed Russian cyber operations toward the Norwegian parliament earlier this year actualizes the addressing of the issue in the Council. The policy brief discusses the GGE negotiations on cyberspace in 2015 and 2017 - and gives policy recommendations on the way forward.
- Topic:
- United Nations, International Affairs, and Cyberspace
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
15947. In the shadow of the virus Varieties of power in the COVID-19 crisis in Venezuela
- Author:
- Peder Østebø
- Publication Date:
- 12-2020
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- While all states face massive challenges when responding to COVID-19, some are in a more precarious position than others. In Venezuela, the pandemic arrived at the worst possible time for its citizens. Facing one of the deepest economic crises outside of wartime in recent years, its consequences have spilled over to all aspect of social life.1 However, the timing seems to have suited the leaders of the Venezuelan regime well. Rather than constituting a threat to the stability of a regime that has lost both democratic legitimacy and the capacity to provide services and security, the government of Nicolas Maduro (2013-present) has seemingly managed to consolidate itself after several years of instability. The starting point of the discussion is an apparent paradox: how can a regime with neither legitimacy nor capacity, two commonly invoked criteria for effective crisis management, strengthen itself during a crisis such as that spurred by COVID-19? The brief presents an overview of how the Venezuelan regime has responded to COVID-19, and how the government of Nicolás Maduro has applied different strategies to consolidate a favorable political status quo. It takes as its starting point three concepts, namely “state capacity,” “legitimacy,” and “power,” all of which are frequently upheld as fundamental for understanding the varying ways in which states have responded to the pandemic. It highlights how relative power relations have shifted in recent years, and how the pandemic has contributed to skewing the balance of power further in favor of the Maduro government.
- Topic:
- Government, Health, Crisis Management, and COVID-19
- Political Geography:
- South America, Central America, and Venezuela
15948. Measuring Russia’s attention to Europe and the world
- Author:
- Kristian Lundby Gjerde
- Publication Date:
- 12-2020
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- Based on a mapping of mentions of country names in more than 30,000 Russian official speeches, press conferences, meeting transcripts, and official statements, this brief provides insights into changes to Russia’s engagement with the world during the 21st century. Without disentangling the subtleties of relations – such as their security, economic, or cultural dimensions and their benign or adversarial features – this approach allows the brief to sketch answers to questions that would otherwise be left to guesswork.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, Economics, and Culture
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Europe, and Eurasia
15949. The coronavirus pandemic and its challenges to women’s work in Latin America
- Author:
- Diana Gutiérrez, Guillermina Martin, and Hugo Nopo
- Publication Date:
- 11-2020
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Group for the Analysis of Development (GRADE)
- Abstract:
- The coronavirus pandemic has spread throughout the world and Latin America has not been exempt from its health, economic and social impacts. The economic shutdown, as a result of a combination of stringent measures (self-quarantines, mandatory lockdowns, limited capacity in shops, factories and offices, border closures, etc.), is having a profound economic and social impact. In the labor market it has shocked both supply and demand. Within households, it has resulted in an increase in the unpaid workload, burdening women disproportionately, further reducing the time they can allocate to productive activities. The crisis’s impacts and depth are felt differently by they can widen existing gender gaps. In this paper, the authors explore the impacts of the crisis on employment in sixteen countries in the region. In addition, they analize gender impacts through four lenses: young people, people living in poverty, people living in rural areas and heads of the family. Researchers present a set of policy option aimed at integrating the gender approach into the entire pandemic world. Emphasizing the need for cross-sectional solutions, the authors propose policies in three main areas: the home, work and the spaces between work and home. This will enable socio-economic recovery policies to not only soften short-term impacts, but also further equal opportunities for women and men in the medium and long terms.
- Topic:
- Economics, Gender Issues, Health, International Political Economy, Women, Pandemic, COVID-19, and Global Health
- Political Geography:
- Latin America
15950. How a pinch analysis can help visualise emission cuts for developing countries - Philippines
- Author:
- Dominic Foo and Raymond Tan
- Publication Date:
- 03-2020
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Asia Research Institute, University of Nottingham
- Abstract:
- Policy makers should use the carbon emissions pinch analysis (CEPA) as a graphical technique to allow the energy-climate nexus to be analysed visually and easily. This will help decision makers achieve the emission cuts they need. We illustrate the usefulness of CEPA by applying it to the case of the Philippines as a representative developing country.
- Topic:
- Developing World, Sustainable Development Goals, Sustainability, and Carbon Emissions
- Political Geography:
- Philippines and Global Focus
15951. How a pinch analysis can help visualise emission cuts for transition economies
- Author:
- Dominic Foo, Raymond Tan, and Purusothmn Nair
- Publication Date:
- 03-2020
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Asia Research Institute, University of Nottingham
- Abstract:
- Policy makers should use the carbon emissions pinch analysis (CEPA) as a graphical technique to allow the energy-climate nexus to be analysed visually and easily. This will help decision makers achieve the emission cuts they need. We illustrate the usefulness of CEPA by applying it to the case of Malaysia as a representative for transition economies.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Energy Policy, Sustainable Development Goals, Renewable Energy, Economic Development, Sustainability, and Carbon Emissions
- Political Geography:
- Malaysia
15952. Inclusive education in ASEAN countries: how to support children with disabilities in schools
- Author:
- Tze Peng Wong
- Publication Date:
- 03-2020
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Asia Research Institute, University of Nottingham
- Abstract:
- This policy brief provides recommendations to enable equal participation in education among children with disabilities in ASEAN countries. It specifically calls for governments and schools to adopt inclusive education recommendations which include the training of teachers of inclusive principles, the allocation of funding to build relevant infrastructure and the development of new curricula.
- Topic:
- Education, Children, and Teaching
- Political Geography:
- ASEAN
15953. Inclusive growth: how to encourage persons with disabilities into the labour market
- Author:
- Gan Siew Wei, Vengadeshvaran Sarma, and Tang Yu Hoe
- Publication Date:
- 03-2020
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Asia Research Institute, University of Nottingham
- Abstract:
- Persons with disabilities (PWDs) are regularly discriminated against in the labour market and have little opportunity to participate in employment and entrepreneurship. In Southeast Asia, the lack of data masks the severity of their exclusion. This brief draws on an impact-evaluation of a multicountry corporate social responsibility project in the region. Policy makers should consider the collection of a centralised database and the implementation of new training and mentoring to support PWDs.
- Topic:
- Discrimination, Disability, Corporations, and Labor Market
- Political Geography:
- Asia
15954. Supporting full participation of mothers in the labour market: Childcare-related leave policy lessons from East Asian economies
- Author:
- Ruby Chau and Sam Yu
- Publication Date:
- 03-2020
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Asia Research Institute, University of Nottingham
- Abstract:
- Policy makers should implement alterations to the law in order to support women and families in getting back into the workforce. This policy brief reviews how governments in Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan use paid childcare-related leave policies in supporting women to stay in the labour market. It shows that these policies have not been very successful for two main reasons: 1. The leave is not long enough to cover the whole period from birth to the time when the child is entitled to universal state childcare services or school education. 2. These policies do not address the issue of the gender pay gap and hence overlook the financial loss a family may suffer if the father, instead of the mother, takes a substantial period of time off to look after the children.
- Topic:
- Gender Issues, Children, Women, Family, Labor Market, and Childcare
- Political Geography:
- Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and Hong Kong
15955. Water quality monitoring in the Red River Delta (Vietnam): how to improve water resource management in the region
- Author:
- Suzanne McGowan
- Publication Date:
- 03-2020
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Asia Research Institute, University of Nottingham
- Abstract:
- Policy makers should use collected datasets to inform policy making that supports improved water resources management. The Red River Delta has a long history of collecting water quality data. These datasets can help policy makers understand how population growth and urban development has impacted water quality in the region. This brief suggests new methodologies and approaches to guide collection, analysis and interpretation of water quality monitoring datasets for improved water resources management.
- Topic:
- Natural Resources, Water, Sustainable Development Goals, Urban, Population Growth, and Sustainability
- Political Geography:
- Asia and Vietnam
15956. Party footprints in Africa: Measuring local party presence across the continent
- Author:
- Matthias Krönke, Sarah J. Lockwood, and Robert Mattes
- Publication Date:
- 10-2020
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Afrobarometer
- Abstract:
- The conventional view holds that most of Africa’s political parties are organizationally weak, with little grassroots presence. Yet few studies are based on systematically collected data about more than a handful of parties or countries at any given point. In this paper, we focus on one crucial aspect of party organization – the local presence that enables political parties to engage with and mobilize voters – and use Afrobarometer data to develop the Party Presence Index, the first systematic, cross-national measure of local party presence in Africa. We then apply the index to a series of substantive questions, confirming its value and demonstrating its potential to add significantly to our understanding of grassroots party organization.
- Topic:
- Governance, Democracy, Local, Political Parties, and Community
- Political Geography:
- Africa
15957. Willing to kill: Factors contributing to mob justice in Uganda
- Author:
- Ronald Makanga Kakumba
- Publication Date:
- 11-2020
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Afrobarometer
- Abstract:
- Mob justice is a form of extrajudicial punishment or retribution in which a person suspected of wrongdoing is typically humiliated, beaten, and in many cases killed by vigilantes or a crowd. Mob action takes place in the absence of any form of fair trial in which the accused are given a chance to defend themselves; the mob simply takes the law into its own hands (Ng’walali & Kitinya, 2006). Mob justice is not only criminal but also amounts to a violation of human rights (Uganda Human Rights Commission, 2016). Over the past decade, Uganda has seen a significant rise in the number of cases of mob justice. According to the Uganda Police Force’s (2013-2019) annual crime reports, 746 deaths by mob action were reported and investigated in 2019, compared to 426 in 2013, a 75% increase. “Mob kills 42 in 7 weeks,” the Daily Monitor (2019) reported in March 2019, citing police figures – an average of six lynchings a week. Homicides by mob action in Uganda occur mainly in response to thefts, robberies, killings, and reports of witchcraft (Uganda Police Force, 2018). According to the 2015 Afrobarometer survey in Uganda, one in six Ugandan adults said they took part in mob justice during the preceding year or would do so if they “had the chance.” This suggests that mob justice is not just a fringe problem in Uganda but commands attention and requires collective action. Why would a substantial number of Ugandans resort to taking the law into their own hands as an alternative form of “justice”? Analysts have pointed to a number of factors that might contribute to a willingness to engage in mob justice. One is a lack of trust in the formal criminal justice system to administer fair and timely justice. A 2005 study in Uganda showed that mob actions were often motivated by widespread suspicion or misunderstanding of the justice system, especially concerning the procedure of police bail, under which suspected culprits can be temporarily released before the court process (Baker, 2005). A study in southern Nigeria also reported that a lack of trust in the police was one of the motivations for the alarming incidence of “jungle justice” (Obarisiagbon, 2018). Research has also shown that personal victimization by crime can have a lasting impact on attitudes toward the police, the courts, and the criminal justice system overall (Berthelot, McNeal, & Baldwin, 2018; Dull & Wint, 1997; Koenig, 1980; Sprott & Doob, 1997), as can negative personal experiences with the courts (Olson & Huth, 1998; Kanaabi, 2004). Amid Uganda’s surge in mob justice, Afrobarometer findings tell us that popular trust in the police and courts has been declining while citizens’ perceptions of corruption in these criminal justice institutions has been rising. Statistical analyses show that a lack of trust in the police is associated with a willingness to engage in mob justice, while perceived corruption undermines trust and thus indirectly contributes to a willingness to join others in mob actions. Further, our analysis finds that being a victim of crime (physical assault), encountering problems in the court system, finding it hard to obtain police assistance, and having to pay a bribe to police or court officials are factors that make people more likely to say they would take part in mob action against suspected criminals. Based on these findings, we offer recommendations to mitigate Uganda’s growing problem of mob justice.
- Topic:
- Human Rights, Courts, Police, Justice, and Bribery
- Political Geography:
- Uganda and Africa
15958. Corruption Crossroads? Rising Perceptions of Graft Weaken Citizen Trust, Threaten Botswana’s Democratic Standing
- Author:
- Thomas Isbell and Batlang Seabo
- Publication Date:
- 08-2020
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Afrobarometer
- Abstract:
- Corruption is widely considered one of the greatest impediments to sustainable development in African countries (United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, 2016; Bratton & Gyimah-Boadi, 2016). Corruption hinders macro-economic growth by weakening governance structures and diluting the positive effects of investments. At the micro level, corruption can trap the poorest, who are least likely to have alternatives to state provision of services, in a downward spiral (Peiffer & Rose, 2014). Botswana has long been considered one of Africa’s least corrupt countries and top performers in democratic practice and good governance. But while Transparency International’s (2019) Corruption Perceptions Index continues to rank Botswana as best on the continent, other observers have questioned this reputation (Mogalakwe & Nyamnjoh, 2017; Good, 2017). Allegations have focused on, among other things, high-level corruption in military procurement contracts under former President Ian Khama, close ties between members of the ruling party and the agricultural sector, and charges that well-connected suspects are often cleared by the courts (Motlogelwa & Civillini, 2016; Konopo, 2017; Good, 2017; Norad, 2011; Sebudubudu 2014; Gasennelwe, 2018). Recent corruption scandals have reached the highest levels of government, including the alleged looting of the National Petroleum Fund (Kgalemang, 2019; Motshegwa, Mutonono, & Mikazhu, 2019), and are still before courts of law (Shuma, 2020). In this paper we use Afrobarometer survey data to explore citizens’ perceptions of corruption in Botswana. We find that far more people see corruption increasing than decreasing and that perceptions of corruption in the Presidency and Parliament have risen sharply over the past decade. Fewer Batswana approve of how the government is handling the anti-corruption fight, and while many believe ordinary people can help fight corruption, a majority say that people risk retaliation if they report corruption to the authorities. A correlation analysis suggests that perceptions of corruption, especially in the Presidency, are strongly associated with less popular trust in public institutions and less satisfaction with democracy.
- Topic:
- Corruption, Governance, Democracy, and Citizenship
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Botswana
15959. PP67: COVID-19 in Africa - Vulnerabilities and Assets for an Effective Response
- Author:
- Robert Mattes, Carolyn Logan, E. Gyimah-Boadi, and George Ellison
- Publication Date:
- 08-2020
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Afrobarometer
- Abstract:
- Not only did the COVID-19 disease arrive on Africa’s shores (and at its airports) later than in Asia, Europe, and North America (Loembé et al., 2020), but for months the numbers of infections and deaths also appeared to remain relatively low. As of early August, the continent had experienced more than 1 million confirmed cases and 23,000 deaths (Africa CDC, 2020), though these figures were increasing rapidly. At this point, the causes behind Africa’s comparatively low initial numbers are not completely clear. One reason may be that early and decisive responses on the part of many African governments prevented the virus from gaining an easy foothold (Beech, Rubin, Kurmanaev, & MacLean, 2020; Hirsch, 2020; Levinson, 2020; Moore, 2020; Loembé et al., 2020). Indeed, according to the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (2020), 46 African countries took some form of official action – in the form of new legislation or executive orders and decrees – restricting or banning travel and public gatherings, enforcing quarantines, or in some cases imposing full “lockdowns.” But Africa, somewhat paradoxically, may also have benefited from a range of structural factors, such as the continent’s relatively limited international exposure, its relatively low rates of intra- and inter-state air travel (Marbot, 2020), a generally hot and humid climate, relatively lower levels of population density and urbanization (De Waal, 2020; Marbot, 2020), and its substantially younger populations (Binding, 2020). It may have also profited from cultural factors, such as the fact that older people tend to remain with their families, rather than being institutionalized in retirement homes (Marbot, 2020), though this also has consequences for residential density, or that it has a more collectivist, less individualistic culture, which, according to recent research, may make COVID-19 interventions more effective (Frey, Presidente, & Chen, 2020). Yet most public health experts remain wary, and still expect significant further transmission of the virus across the continent, requiring drastic public health responses and interventions, especially where governments eased initial restrictions and lockdowns. Indeed, some officials have expressed concerns that Africa’s low numbers merely reflect very low rates of testing (Sly, 2020) and even, in some countries such as Tanzania, deliberate under-reporting (BBC, 2020). Some press reports have described instances where local reports of death rates bear little relation to official data (MacLean, 2020; York, 2020). These concerns appear well-founded given that community transmission is now present in all African countries and the number of infections increased by 50%, and deaths by 22%, in the last two weeks of July (World Health Organization, 2020). And officials at the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention have warned that Africa could well become the next epicenter of the pandemic (Loembé et al., 2020). If, as these events suggest, early interventions in African countries successfully erected a wall that kept the virus at bay, albeit temporarily, how well prepared are these countries if and when the virus penetrates their initial defenses? A wealth of Afrobarometer survey data suggests that Africans are especially vulnerable, in part due to lack of access to clean water and adequate health care (Gyimah-Boadi & Logan, 2020a; Logan, Howard, & Gyimah-Boadi, 2020). In this paper, we attempt to take the issue of vulnerability a step further by developing a more fine-grained approach, using insights from public health to examine different dimensions and components of vulnerability (Morrell, 2018). Specifically, we develop three inter-connected indices intended to capture the extent to which Africans might 1) run a heightened “risk of exposure to infection,” 2) face a heightened “susceptibility to illness” (once infected), and 3) face a “lack of resilience” (to recover once they become ill). In addition, a fourth index of “lockdown readiness” estimates the proportion of people who are more (or less) likely to be able to withstand the most severe forms of government health interventions, i.e. lockdowns or “shelter in place” orders, We then demonstrate how cross-country variations in the extent of exposure and susceptibility, and in the degree to which people are prepared for a lockdown, might help us better understand policy choices that African governments have made, and the extent to which these interventions were able to achieve desired reductions in mobility and contact. Finally, we briefly explore some of the soft assets that governments can bring to the table, such as legitimacy and trust, that may help increase compliance with restrictions on mobility, especially in countries we have identified as least able to tolerate lockdowns.
- Topic:
- Governance, Public Health, Pandemic, and COVID-19
- Political Geography:
- Africa
15960. Africa’s Digital Divide and the Promise of E-learning
- Author:
- Matthias Krönke
- Publication Date:
- 06-2020
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Afrobarometer
- Abstract:
- According to UNESCO (2020), approximately 1.2 billion students and youth worldwide are affected by school and university closures because of the COVID-19 pandemic. To adjust to these new circumstances, governments must develop innovative solutions to ensure inclusive learning opportunities during this period of unprecedented educational disruption. This is especially true in African countries, where despite recent progress traditional education has faced infrastructural challenges and struggled to develop the human resources necessary to address students’ educational needs (Krönke & Olan’g, 2020; United Nations, 2019; UNESCO Institute of Statistics, 2016. This policy paper uses Afrobarometer survey data to look at digital infrastructure, the availability of digital devices at the household level, and digital literacy among African adults. While rates of digital literacy among children are likely to differ, it is important to understand these dynamics among adults for at least two reasons. First, adults are likely to shape children’s access to and experience with technology. Second, understanding current levels of access to devices and levels of digital literacy among adults provides a baseline against which future assessments can measure progress over time. Survey findings from Afrobarometer Round 7 (2016/2018) show a substantial digital divide both across and within countries, reflected in uneven access to resources such as electricity and unequal access to and use of smartphones and computers. The results suggest that government efforts to redress widespread inequalities need to be increased drastically to avoid the widening of an education gap among their citizens. The paper also discusses the potential benefits of providing smartphones and computers to those who currently do not have access to such devices.
- Topic:
- Education, Infrastructure, Inequality, Digital Economy, and Digitalization
- Political Geography:
- Africa