Civic Engagement, Public Participation, and Trust in Digital Space: The Emerging New Face of Democracy in Africa

There are certain philosophical principles that symbolize legitimacy in democracy. These include freedom of expression and right of assembly. It is an indisputable fact that communication defines democracy. When citizens are silenced against free speech and civic engagement, democracy dies. Communication engenders public participation in governance. It builds trust. The invention of internet technology and the corollary emergence of the ubiquitous digital space enhanced this social need until certain despotic African rulers, recognizing the inherent revolutionary powers of the technology, started wielding the big stick of silence. Citizens who had embraced digital space as an avenue for civic engagement and interaction with political leaders faced a rude awakening. Since the Arab Spring of 2010, there have been palpable elements of tension across Africa caused by a lawless pushback by the political class against digitized freedom of expression and assembly. Users of digital platforms have also engaged in such unethical practices as privacy breach, cybercrimes, and fake news, causing people’s trust in digital space to dwindle. This study, anchored in the public sphere theory, explores how digital technology was used to initiate participatory democracy in Africa, and the crushing resistance mounted by governments. The study adopts the qualitative research method and is based on a review of relevant scholarly secondary data from 2005 to 2023. Findings reveal that across Africa, digital technology that was meant to cultivate participatory democracy faced a brick wall of resistance from government, in addition to unethical conduct by some users. The study recommends further research on how lawless conduct on the part of both citizens and government can be legally and democratically curtailed.