Reframing the global knowledge economy: an Afropolitan approach

Abstract

Growing geopolitical rivalry over Africa’s technological infrastructure and digital networks fuels concerns about African agency and autonomy in the global knowledge economy. This chapter questions what constitutes “global” and “challenges” in the field of technological transformation in Africa. It advances an Afropolitan framework that shifts analysis away from Global North perspectives, revealing how African nations strategically manage their digital sovereignty and technological development. African states are frequently characterized as mere recipients of competing global technological initiatives from China, the United States, and Europe. This oversimplified narrative obscures the complex ways African nations actively shape their technological futures. Building on Taiye Selasi and Achille Mbembe’s concept of Afropolitanism, this chapter demonstrates how Africa’s fluid identities and contemporary culture can contribute to reshaping our understanding of technological governance and innovation. This framework transcends simplistic binary choices between Global North and Chinese developmental models now dominating the debate, recognizing and leveraging Africa’s multiple modernities in technological development. African countries are strategically balancing technological independence with complex global interdependencies. Their experiences demonstrate how Afropolitanism offers nuanced insights for addressing global challenges beyond conventional Western paradigms.