Powers, Interests and Actors 1

This chapter examines the influence of China in the growth of Africa's digital surveillance ¹ capabilities and practices. The growth of Chinese investments through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in the global south is well documented. Yet, China's digital infrastructure investments in Africa still present a research lacuna that needs to be filled. Equally under-researched is how it influences African governments’ clampdown on citizens. Utilising the international political economy approach, we analyse the intersection of power, actors and interests in Africa's surveillance practices focusing on Zambia and Zimbabwe. We focus on Zimbabwe and Zambia because their ties with China are among the most enduring of all African countries. For instance, Huawei Technologies and Zhongxing Telecom Ltd (ZTE), two of China's most successful multinational telecommunication corporations, are active in Zambia and Zimbabwe. We seek to answer the questions: In what ways does China influence the rapidly growing digital surveillance practices by African governments? Who are the main actors, and which interests are implicated in digital surveillance? To answer these questions, we employ a qualitative approach using in-depth interviews of key informants in Zambia and Zimbabwe, supplemented by extensive document and policy analysis. The argument we make in this chapter is that Chinese telecom companies do not operate in isolation but in tandem with Chinese geostrategic objectives and interests. We further argue that the expansion of China's technology companies represents, by proxy, the expansion of Beijing's surveillance ideology and its influence in the region.