Digital technology and its implications for peacebuilding in South Africa and Zimbabwe

Abstract

This article examines digital activism and government responses in South Africa and Zimbabwe and the attendant consequences for peacebuilding. It is based on the study of the July 2021 riots in South Africa and the January 2019 protests in Zimbabwe. The article argues that digital activism enables citizens to actively promote alternative visions of peace commensurate with positive peace by demanding a fundamental improvement in service delivery and living standards. While calls for a ‘positive peace’ commonly appear to be part of the peacebuilding ‘mainstream’, digital activists employed them to challenge the government’s vision of authoritarian peace. The article demonstrates the possibility of pluriversal peacebuilding through digital practices, shifting hegemonic discourses on peace and security perpetuated by ruling elites. The article also considers the need to think about such pluriversal projects in post-digital terms by showing how online activism and the realization of material and tangible change are intricately linked.