The EU as a global actor in the digital sphere: the case of EU – Africa relations

This paper will try to close a research gap by analysing the EU’s global actorness in the digital sphere with a view to the fact that some states are more and some are less digitally advanced than the EU. The focus of this paper is on the latter aspect. A case study on the EU’s way of dealing with digital affairs vis-à-vis Africa shall add to our understanding of the EU as global digital actor: Which types of policies are used? Does the EU act as a ‘normative power’ or rather based on its economic or geopolitical self-interest? After a categorisation of the EU’s policy output addressing the digital relations between the EU and Africa, using Tallberg’s policy output approach, Lowi’s typology of policies as well as Wallace’s and Reh’s five policy modes (Lowi 1972; Tallberg et al. 2016; Wallace and Reh 2015), the extent of the EU’s policies will be explained using the lense of Schunz’ and Damro’s expanding actorness approach (Schunz and Damro 2020). The following step of the analysis will be the detection of a norm- or interest orientation of the EU’s (planned) policies, which shall help deepen our understanding of the EU’s handling of this ‘digital divide’ between itself and Africa. Approaches focusing on digital capitalism – surveillance capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff and weaponised interdependence by Henry Farrell and Abraham Newman – will help putting the EU’s policy output and goals into context. The methodology builds on a qualitative approach comprising expert interviews, qualitative coding and content analysis. Findings will advance research by shedding light on a largely insufficiently researched part of the EU’s digitalisation policy as well as on the EU’s role as a global (digital) actor.