All Content Related to Sub-Saharan Africa

Background Since Zimbabwe’s independence from Great Britain in 1980, the country has been tightly controlled by President Robert Mugabe and the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), which is known for severe repression and continuing violations of human rights....
Background Ethiopia’s record on human rights and political openness took a turn for the worse after the legislative elections of May 2005. Though originally hailed by the U.S. State Department as “a milestone in creating a new, more competitive multi-party political system in...
The OpenNet Initiative is proud to release its 2009 Year in Review, a look into instances of filtering, surveillance, and information warfare around the world in 2009. The events of 2009 demonstrated a global rise in third-generation Internet controls. ...
The OpenNet Initiative (ONI) has been monitoring Internet filtering around the world since 2002. Currently, more that 40 countries are filtering the Internet to varying degrees, while a number of others, including Australia, Iraq, and Spain, are considering enacting filtering policies....
The OpenNet Initiative (ONI) has released updated reports on Ethiopia and Zimbabwe and new reports on Uganda and Nigeria, where ONI tested for the first time in 2008 and 2009. All four profiles can be accessed at: http://opennet.net/research/regions/ssafrica. Many governments across sub-Saharan...
Background In April 2007 Nigeria underwent its first democratic transition between two civilian governments. The election took place among rumors of fraud and widespread voting irregularities, and opposition candidates Atiku Abubakar and Muhammadu Buhari (Nigeria’s former vice president and former military ruler,...
Background When Uganda gained independence from Britain in 1962, the world held great hopes for its rapid and democratic development. These hopes were dashed by the military coup d’état that brought Idi Amin to power in 1971. Amin’s presidency was marked by...
Introduction Internet penetration in sub-Saharan Africa lags behind that of much of the rest of the world for a variety of economic, political, and infrastructural reasons. Despite these hurdles, most countries in the region view their future success as inextricably linked to harnessing...
PDF Version Note: a newer version of this profile is available at Country Profiles: Zimbabwe. Overview Despite the country’s highly repressive regime, ONI found no evidence of Web site filtration in Zimbabwe. Limited Internet access and e-mail–focused usage have centered the country’s...
PDF Version Note: a newer version of this profile is available at Country Profiles: Ethiopia. Overview Opponents of the current political regime have increasingly used online media to criticize the government, and Ethiopia has responded by implementing a filtering regime that blocks...