Phillip Santos
Biographic Data
| ID | 4900281 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Phillip Santos |
| GIVEN NAMES | Phillip |
| FAMILY NAME | Santos |
| SIGNATURE | SANTOS P |
| AFFILIATIONS | Namibia University of Science and Technology |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-8730-0596 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 9 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 12 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 9 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2015 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Surveillance oversight paradoxes of post-colonial transitions to democracy in Namibia and Zimbabwe
Although Namibia and Zimbabwe share much in common historically, they also exhibit the typical complexities of post-colonial efforts to transform former colonies into bona fide democracies. Both countries experienced the brutal dehumanisation, exploitation, and dispossession of indigenous citizens under colonial rule. Nonetheless, the post-independence transitions of these two countries are arguably starkly in counterpoint to each other. While Na…
Failed or stalled? A critical account of public oversight of surveillance in southern Africa
This article compares public oversight mechanisms of surveillance in Mozambique, Namibia, and Zimbabwe. Drawing on in-depth interviews from Zimbabwe and document analysis from Mozambique and Namibia, it examines why public oversight has failed and stalled in holding governments accountable for abusive surveillance practices in three political contexts. The article argues that three interrelated factors explain these outcomes: the absence of an ‘a…
The democratic deficit in reporting political crises
Although our impression of the media’s role in a democracy and democratising societies is fairly stable, the situation is fundamentally different under unstable and ever shifting conditions of political crisis. To explore dynamics in the latter scenario we analyse the coverage of Zimbabwe’s 2018 elections by the country’s daily newspapers. This allows us to examine the newspapers’ active role in shaping the conditions of crisis through their inte…
Towards a Journalism for Justice
In thinking about how African journalism can serve society better, one has to pay attention to the moment in which humanity finds itself today. Arguably one of the most exigent issues in contemporary society is that of social justice, whose dimensions have been exposed by the denudational forces of an equally potent malignant force, the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the crucial role of the media as a vector of social change, an appraisal of contempora…
Political corruption in Zimbabwe
Even though corruption by politicians and in politics is widespread worldwide, it is more pronounced in developing countries, such as Zimbabwe, where members of the political elite overtly abuse power for personal accumulation of wealth. Ideally, the news media, as watchdogs, are expected to investigate and report such abuses of power. However, previous studies in Zimbabwe highlight the news media’s polarised and normative inefficacies. Informed …
The Reconfiguration of News Work in Southern Africa during the Covid-19 Pandemic
This article examines the reconfiguration of news work during the COVID-19 pandemic in selected newsrooms in Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. It looks at how newsrooms operating in different media systems responded to the structural impediments that accompanied the imposition of lockdown measures. Using technology-mediated interviews, the article investigated how COVID-19 reconfigured news work in Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe and how thi…
Framing Robert Mugabe’s Death
News discourse has been argued to reflect the socio-political and economic interests of which it is a part or serves. It also shows the imbrication of mediation processes with the flows and organisation of power in society. Therefore, by studying news discourse, one can reveal how different societies come to be organised the way they are and their relations to each other. This is a significant task, especially where news media operate in the serv…
Agonistic Dysfunction on Facebook in Zimbabwe
The problem of communication as a function of democracy has occupied research in the social sciences for several decades now. It has been particularly central to Habermas’s conceptualisation of the public sphere, deliberative democracy and discourse ethics, criticisms laid against his emphasis on rational argumentation notwithstanding. Although it is widely accepted that communication is a key element to citizen participation in public processes …
‘Democratic unfreedom’ on Facebook in Zimbabwe
Facebook, like many other new media phenomena, has been touted as an emancipatory and revolutionary medium, especially in ‘blocked democracies’. Such characterisations fail to acknowledge that Facebook is not disarticulated from the overarching social configurations and attendant power dynamics in modern society. Marcuse's notion of ‘democratic unfreedom’ was deployed to examine the dynamics of freedom and control (structured agency) on Facebook.…
The Reconfiguration of News Work in Southern Africa during the Covid-19 Pandemic
This article examines the reconfiguration of news work during the COVID-19 pandemic in selected newsrooms in Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. It looks at how newsrooms operating in different media systems responded to the structural impediments that accompanied the imposition of lockdown measures. Using technology-mediated interviews, the article investigated how COVID-19 reconfigured news work in Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe and how thi…
Political corruption in Zimbabwe
Even though corruption by politicians and in politics is widespread worldwide, it is more pronounced in developing countries, such as Zimbabwe, where members of the political elite overtly abuse power for personal accumulation of wealth. Ideally, the news media, as watchdogs, are expected to investigate and report such abuses of power. However, previous studies in Zimbabwe highlight the news media’s polarised and normative inefficacies. Informed …
‘Democratic unfreedom’ on Facebook in Zimbabwe
Facebook, like many other new media phenomena, has been touted as an emancipatory and revolutionary medium, especially in ‘blocked democracies’. Such characterisations fail to acknowledge that Facebook is not disarticulated from the overarching social configurations and attendant power dynamics in modern society. Marcuse's notion of ‘democratic unfreedom’ was deployed to examine the dynamics of freedom and control (structured agency) on Facebook.…
Agonistic Dysfunction on Facebook in Zimbabwe
The problem of communication as a function of democracy has occupied research in the social sciences for several decades now. It has been particularly central to Habermas’s conceptualisation of the public sphere, deliberative democracy and discourse ethics, criticisms laid against his emphasis on rational argumentation notwithstanding. Although it is widely accepted that communication is a key element to citizen participation in public processes …
Framing Robert Mugabe’s Death
News discourse has been argued to reflect the socio-political and economic interests of which it is a part or serves. It also shows the imbrication of mediation processes with the flows and organisation of power in society. Therefore, by studying news discourse, one can reveal how different societies come to be organised the way they are and their relations to each other. This is a significant task, especially where news media operate in the serv…
Political corruption in Zimbabwe
Even though corruption by politicians and in politics is widespread worldwide, it is more pronounced in developing countries, such as Zimbabwe, where members of the political elite overtly abuse power for personal accumulation of wealth. Ideally, the news media, as watchdogs, are expected to investigate and report such abuses of power. However, previous studies in Zimbabwe highlight the news media’s polarised and normative inefficacies. Informed …
The Reconfiguration of News Work in Southern Africa during the Covid-19 Pandemic
This article examines the reconfiguration of news work during the COVID-19 pandemic in selected newsrooms in Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. It looks at how newsrooms operating in different media systems responded to the structural impediments that accompanied the imposition of lockdown measures. Using technology-mediated interviews, the article investigated how COVID-19 reconfigured news work in Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe and how thi…
Towards a Journalism for Justice
In thinking about how African journalism can serve society better, one has to pay attention to the moment in which humanity finds itself today. Arguably one of the most exigent issues in contemporary society is that of social justice, whose dimensions have been exposed by the denudational forces of an equally potent malignant force, the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the crucial role of the media as a vector of social change, an appraisal of contempora…
The democratic deficit in reporting political crises
Although our impression of the media’s role in a democracy and democratising societies is fairly stable, the situation is fundamentally different under unstable and ever shifting conditions of political crisis. To explore dynamics in the latter scenario we analyse the coverage of Zimbabwe’s 2018 elections by the country’s daily newspapers. This allows us to examine the newspapers’ active role in shaping the conditions of crisis through their inte…
Surveillance oversight paradoxes of post-colonial transitions to democracy in Namibia and Zimbabwe
Although Namibia and Zimbabwe share much in common historically, they also exhibit the typical complexities of post-colonial efforts to transform former colonies into bona fide democracies. Both countries experienced the brutal dehumanisation, exploitation, and dispossession of indigenous citizens under colonial rule. Nonetheless, the post-independence transitions of these two countries are arguably starkly in counterpoint to each other. While Na…
Failed or stalled? A critical account of public oversight of surveillance in southern Africa
This article compares public oversight mechanisms of surveillance in Mozambique, Namibia, and Zimbabwe. Drawing on in-depth interviews from Zimbabwe and document analysis from Mozambique and Namibia, it examines why public oversight has failed and stalled in holding governments accountable for abusive surveillance practices in three political contexts. The article argues that three interrelated factors explain these outcomes: the absence of an ‘a…
Political science (7 works) · African studies and sociopolitical issues (6 works) · Law (6 works) · Media studies (6 works) · Sociology (6 works) · Politics (5 works) · Democracy (4 works) · Social science (4 works) · Media Influence and Politics (3 works) · Media Studies and Communication (3 works)