The Hashtag Revolution: Examining the Role of Cultural Netizenship in Promoting Political Change in Sub-Saharan Africa

近年来，社交媒体平台的激增和智能手机的广泛采用为撒哈拉以南非洲的政治活动提供了新的途径。标签已经成为一个特别强大的工具，允许边缘化的声音被放大，并动员集体行动。然而，在这种背景下，文化公民身份和政治变革之间的关系是复杂的，并没有得到很好的理解。本研究旨在通过考察文化网络在促进撒哈拉以南非洲地区政治变革中的作用来弥补这一文献空白。为了解决这一研究问题，本研究将采用混合方法，包括定性和定量数据收集和分析，并对撒哈拉以南非洲地区与政治变革相关的三个特定主题标签进行案例研究分析：这是一个很好的例子。尼日利亚的#EndSARS，南非的#SilentProtest和津巴布韦的#ThisFlag。总的来说，这一提案旨在更好地理解文化网络在促进撒哈拉以南非洲政治变革中的作用，并为那些在传播学，社会学和政治学领域工作的人提供有价值的见解。

In recent years, the proliferation of social media platformsand the widespread adoption of smartphones haveprovided a new avenue for political activism in sub-SaharanAfrica. The hashtag has emerged as a particularly powerfultool, allowing marginalized voices to be amplified andmobilizing collective action. However, the relationshipbetween cultural netizenship and political change in thiscontext is complex and not well understood. This proposalseeks to address this gap in the literature by examining therole of cultural netizenship in promoting political change insub-Saharan Africa.To address this research question, the proposed study willemploy a mixed-methods approach, including bothqualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis,with a case study analysis of three specific hashtags thathave been associated with political change in sub-SaharanAfrica: #EndSARS in Nigeria, #SilentProtest in South Africa,and #ThisFlag in Zimbabwe.Overall, this proposal seeks to contribute to a betterunderstanding of the role of cultural netizenship inpromoting political change in sub-Saharan Africa, and toprovide valuable insights for those working in the fields ofcommunication, sociology, and political science.