The coloniality of surveillance
Digital technologies and state power in Zimbabwe
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 24225010 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Gorden Moyo (0009-0002-9980-705X, Fort Hare Institute for Social and Economic Research, University of Fort Hare, Alice, South Africa), Kirk Helliker (0000-0003-2356-0433, Rhodes University) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publication date | 2026-10-12 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Asian and African Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0021-9096 • E-ISSN: 1745-2538 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/00219096261493415 |
| OpenAlex | W7221558680 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 40 |
Digital surveillance scholarship in Africa has paid limited attention to the historical processes shaping state power in post-independence contexts. This paper develops the concept of the coloniality of surveillance to address this gap in Zimbabwe. Drawing on Afro-decolonial theory and documentary analysis, it traces how digital surveillance reworks colonial practices of monitoring, classification and political control. The paper argues that digital technologies expand state capacities while reshaping political knowledge, administrative authority and democratic citizenship. The coloniality of surveillance thereby provides a historically grounded framework for understanding digital governance and post-independence state power in Africa.
administrative power · Classification · democratic citizenship · digital governance · digital surveillance · political control · post-independence states · state power · Zimbabwe · African Studies and Ethnography · African studies and sociopolitical issues · Ethics and Social Impacts of AI
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| Highly cited | No |
|---|