Mauritius

Kasenally, Roukaya

doi:10.1163/9789004503182_051

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“…With 1.95 million mobile phone connections (more than 150 per cent of the population), most Mauritians have plugged into the digital sphere. This has coincided with a shift in Mauritian governance from democratic darling (Carroll and Carroll 1999; Eriksen and Ramtohul 2018) to widely expressed concerns of growing authoritarianism (V-Dem Institute 2021; Kasenally 2021; Bunwaree 2023). Engaging a wealth of literature on authoritarian regimes and media control in Africa (e.g.…”

Section: Introduction: Conscripting Communalismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conscripting communalism: surveillance and resistance in contemporary Mauritius

Auerbach

2023

Africa

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In this article I explore changing state–citizen relationships in Mauritius. To do so, I outline and provide analysis of the system through which this Indian Ocean island has historically managed its diversity – a process that I call conscripting communalism. Conscripting communalism was formulated at independence in a context of behavioural predictions for the future that the internet era has challenged in powerful ways. To illustrate my argument, I explore three specific moments when ethnic and religious discourses were surpassed by collective concern within a rapidly authoritarianizing state: first, the sinking of the Wakashio oil tanker off the coast of Mauritius in 2020, which resulted in national solidarity towards the environment rather than communal violence; second, proposed legislation put forward by the Mauritian Information and Communication Technology Authority (ICTA) in 2021, which attempted to enable state surveillance of social media and which was soundly resisted by both domestic and external parties. And finally, I explore 2022 accusations that the Mauritian government authorized the installation of digital interception technology by representatives of the Indian state on one of the country’s fibre optic cables. The article argues that Mauritius represents an important site of analysis of the tensions between competing global visions of human rights, political autonomy, surveillance, solidarity and expectations for the future and the role of the internet in shaping these competing visions. I explore how new technologies have become the tools of both repression and resistance. The implications ripple far beyond the island.

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Section: Introduction: Conscripting Communalismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conscripting communalism: surveillance and resistance in contemporary Mauritius

Auerbach

2023

Africa

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Mauritius

Cited by 1 publication

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Conscripting communalism: surveillance and resistance in contemporary Mauritius

Conscripting communalism: surveillance and resistance in contemporary Mauritius

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