Walsh School of Foreign Service

Category: Research Working Group

13 Articles

Blog Posts
Research Working Group

Digital Geopolitics: Is Ghana’s Digital Sector Crowded with External Partners?  

Isaac Odoom During my fieldwork in Accra over the summer of 2025, one thing stood out: the Ministry of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations had become one of the…

October 21, 2025

Blog Posts
Research Working Group

Huawei: Helping or Hindering African Countries Secure Their Data Sovereignty?

Mandira Bagwandeen As Africa rapidly digitizes, data sovereignty has become a key issue. Several African countries are investing in developing local data centers to reduce their…

September 18, 2025

Blog Posts
Research Working Group

Beyond Dominance: The Nuanced Embeddedness of Chinese Tech Firms in Kenya’s Digital Transformation

Yabo Wu Various Chinese technology firms, state-owned or private, with or without the Chinese state’s support, participate in African digital transformation to initiate…

September 18, 2025

Blog Posts
Research Working Group

Digital Sovereignty in Postcolonial Africa: The Spread of Chinese Surveillance Tools and the Leasing of African Sovereignty

Bulelani Jili To date, the governments of sixteen African countries have embraced Huawei digital surveillance technology in their everyday operations. This technology is imported…

September 18, 2025

Blog Posts
Research Working Group

Chinese Huawei Group and the Building of Senegalese Digital Grammar from 2006 to 2024

Ibrahima Niang Introduction             In twenty years since Senegal and China resumed their diplomatic relations in…

September 18, 2025

Project Descriptions
Research Working Group

How Should African Countries Respond to the Re-Emergence of Techno-Geopolitics? A Case Study of Kenya’s Multi-Vendor 5G Network Development Strategy

Mandira Bagwandeen The escalating US-China competition for technological leadership, particularly highlighted in the US-Huawei 5G dispute, forces countries worldwide to navigate…

September 4, 2025

Project Descriptions
Research Working Group

The Coded Gaze: Grappling with Kenya’s Adoption of Chinese Surveillance Tools

Bulelani Jili This paper examines Kenya’s adoption of AI-powered surveillance technology. The procurement of these tools is embedded within processes that support the…

September 4, 2025

Project Descriptions
Research Working Group

The Digital Silk Roads: How Huawei is Rewriting the Future of ICT Infrastructure in Senegalese

Ibrahima Niang The “Made in China” technology serves now as the backbone of network infrastructure in several African countries and they are providing the next generation of…

September 4, 2025

Project Descriptions
Research Working Group

The Multi-Layered Embeddedness of Chinese Technology Firms in Kenyan Digital Development

Yabo Wu The project – titled The Multi-Layered of Embeddedness of Chinese Technology Firms in Kenyan Digital Development – engages in a dialogue with existing extensive…

September 3, 2025

Project Descriptions
Research Working Group

Dovish Publics vs Hawkish Elites: U.S. Public Opinion on China’s Role in African States

Ken Opalo China’s rise as a major global power has upended the established order of the internationalsystem. Nowhere is this more apparent that in Africa, where China has…

June 11, 2025