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地区的政治活动提供了新的途径。话题标签已经成为一种特别强大的工具，可以放大边缘化的声音，动员集体行动。然而，在这种背景下，文化网民与政治变革之间的关系是复杂的，并没有得到很好的理解。本提案旨在通过研究文化网民在促进撒哈拉以南非洲政治变革中的作用来解决这一文献空白。为了解决这一研究问题，拟议的研究将采用混合方法，包括定性和定量数据收集和分析，并对与撒哈拉以南非洲政治变革相关的三个特定标签进行案例研究分析：尼日利亚的#结束sars，南非的#沉默抗议和津巴布韦的#这面旗帜。总体而言，本提案旨在帮助人们更好地理解文化网民在促进撒哈拉以南非洲政治变革中的作用，并为传播学、社会学和政治学领域的工作人员提供有价值的见解。

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.