Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose? Understanding how and why new ICTs played a role in Burkina Faso’s recent journey to socio-political change Fiona Dragstra, M.Sc. Research Master Thesis Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose? Understanding how and why new ICTs played a role in Burkina Faso’s recent journey to socio-political change Research Master Thesis By: Fiona Dragstra Research Master African Studies s1454862 African Studies Centre, Leiden Supervisors: Prof. dr. Mirjam de Bruijn, Leiden University, Faculty of History dr. Meike de Goede, Leiden University, Faculty of History Third reader: dr. Sabine Luning, Leiden University, Faculty of Social Sciences Date: 14 December 2016 Word count (including footnotes): 38.339 Cover photo: Young woman protests against the coup d’état in Bobo-Dioulasso, September 2015. Photo credit: Lefaso.net and @ful226, Twitter, 20 September 2015 All pictures and quotes in this thesis are taken with and used with consent of authors and/or people on pictures 1 A dedication to activists – the Burkinabè in particular every protest. every voice. every sound. we have made. in the protection of our existence. has shaken the entire universe. it is trembling. Nayyirah Waheed – a poem from her debut Salt Acknowledgements Together we accomplish more than we could ever do alone. My fieldwork and time of writing would have never been as successful, fruitful and wonderful without the help of many. First and foremost I would like to thank everyone in Burkina Faso who discussed with me, put up with me and helped me navigate through a complex political period in which I demanded attention and precious time, which many people gave without wanting anything in return. Thanks a million to Ismaël, Valian, Zinaba, petit Aziz, Fati and all others in the Balai family for letting me come along, eating attiéké with you, letting me buy you Brakinas, and discussing politics until we were all sick of it. Special thanks to Ako, David, Abdoulaye, Nasser, Aziz and Eric for taking me everywhere, for letting me celebrate your holy month with you, and for the many nights full of fun and dancing! Minata, Inoussa, Christophe, and Idrissa for the interesting discussions, Lan for taking care of me when I was sick and for being the coolest roommate anybody could wish for! A huge thank you to Mr. Balima for introducing me to many and making me feel at home, and to Mr. Moyenga for taking the time to draw me a map of Burkinabè politics. And of course to everyone who helped me at Semfilms, Université de Ouagadougou and Yam-Pukri. There are also those who helped me throughout the whole process of this thesis. An enormous thank you to Mirjam de Bruijn and Meike de Goede for guiding me throughout and for pushing me even when I thought all was lost. Thank you Meike for pointing me in the right direction, the productive brainstorm-sessions and the helpful feedback, and Mirjam for seeing me change, allowing creativity in my brain and helping me organize the mess. I would like to thank the entire van Dijk family: Han for keeping me sharp and being patient, Annigje for understanding me when I was talking non-sense and Gosse for all the laughs and nights thinking about the complexities of the world. Moreover, I would like to thank the African Studies Centre family – Azeb, Tanja, Marjoleine, Eefje, Njeri, and Vera in particular – and the Connecting in Times of Duress team for motivating me. Last but definitely not least, a huge thank you to my awesome parents, brother and sister who are always supportive and always there, my friends for continuous support and distraction, and Max, of course. Nous sommes ensemble! 3 Abstract New ICTs, such as mobile phones and social media, are increasingly being seen as catalysers for political engagement, the spark of revolutions, or breaking power relations between political elites and the ‘information poor’. They have been centralised in the explanation of the Arab Spring and the wave of popular uprisings that occurred from 2010 onwards. It is safe to say that new ICTs indeed play a role in how information is spread and how people are mobilised for protest. However, the need for a reflection on why these new ICTs have a part in the outcome of uprisings within its respective context was often lacking. Moreover, it has often been left undiscussed what happens after a revolution or popular uprising. Is there actual social or political change, or does it often lead to an illusion or deception? New ICTs can prove to be extremely useful in mobilisation, the creation and spread of information and awakening a sense of political agency. Nevertheless, a country’s history, and its social, political and economic context might prove to be just as important when understanding the complexities of popular uprisings and their aftermath. This thesis discusses the case of Burkina Faso, where in the period of one year, the population rose up twice to demand change, justice and accountability. In October 2014, the Burkinabè massively hit the streets and within a ‘ten day revolution’ they ousted Blaise Compaoré who had been in power for 27 years. In September 2015, the Burkinabè again hit the streets to condemn a coup d’état that was executed by the former right-hand of Blaise Compaoré. Both uprisings were successful, meaning that those protesting achieved their short-term goals of ousting Blaise Compaoré and stopping a coup d’état. However, the question remains if they ensured change on the long-term and why new ICTs played a role in these successes. This thesis draws upon six months of extensive fieldwork in Burkina Faso and months of employing digital ethnographies, to understand if, why and how new ICTs played a role in the growth, outcome and aftermath of the Burkinabè uprisings. It argues that new ICTs played a major role in both uprisings because it brought together a collective of like-minded people and it ensured rapid mobilisation. However, we should be careful in putting them at the forefront of the explanation of political unrest and uprisings, because the socio-political context, historical background, existing political tensions and social structures may affect its effects. Key words: Burkina Faso; new ICTs; information; uprising; political agency; hybrid social movements; political memory; connective action; revolution; mobilisation 4 List of abbreviations Burkina, BF: Short for or abbreviation of Burkina Faso CADRE Cadre de Réflexion et d’Actions Démocratiques – Framework for democratic reflections and actions CDP: Congrès pour la Démocratie et le Progrès – the political party of Blaise Compaoré CGD Centre pour la Gouvernance Démocratique - Centre for Democratic Governance (CGD) CND: Conseil National de la Démocratie – how the ‘government’ called themselves after an attempted coup d’état. CNT: Conseil Nationale de la Transition – National transition government after the fall of Blaise Compaoré ECOWAS: Economic Community of West African States – CEDEAO in French EU: European Union ICTs: Information and Communication Technologies MPP: Mouvement pour le Peuple et le Progrès – the biggest opposition party in the time of Compaoré, and the ruling party as of the end of 2015 NGOs: Non-governmental organisations RSP: Régiment de Sécurité Présidentielle – Presidential army UN: United Nations 5 Table of Contents Acknowledgements ............................................................................................... 3 Abstract .................................................................................................................. 4 List of abbreviations .............................................................................................. 5 Table of Contents .................................................................................................. 6 Introduction: « le pays des hommes intègres » ..................................... 8 ∞ September 2015 .......................................................................................................................8 ∞ An African Spring? ...............................................................................................................10 ∞ Burkina Faso’s uprisings – a revolution led by ICTs? ..........................................................12 ∞ Structure of the thesis ............................................................................................................15 New ICTs and social movements: a recipe for change? ..................... 17 ∞ Dynamics of political agency ................................................................................................17 ∞ Collective memories and collective action ............................................................................20 ∞ Moving on: rising tensions and new social movements ........................................................22 ∞ Linking, sharing, spreading: ICTs and information ..............................................................26 ∞ Hypotheses ............................................................................................................................31 Methodological approach and research methods ............................... .32 ∞ Research design .....................................................................................................................32 ∞ Political context in which this research took place ................................................................33 ∞ Mutual understanding ...........................................................................................................34