Public oversight of Intelligence-driven surveillance in Southern Africa
Edited by Jane Duncan and Allen Munoriyarwa
Democratising Spy Watching explores how digitisation has dramatically expanded the surveillance capacities of intelligence agencies, enabling large-scale data collection through digital technologies and public–private collaborations. While effective oversight is essential to prevent abuse, official oversight bodies across Southern Africa often lack the authority and resources required to monitor intelligence agencies and ensure lawful conduct.
Drawing on comparative case studies from eight Southern African countries, the volume examines moments where public oversight of intelligence-driven surveillance succeeded, failed, or produced mixed outcomes. It demonstrates how public interventions—such as exposing secrecy, documenting abuses, and organising campaigns—have become central to holding surveillance practices accountable. The book advances a compelling argument for a new model of public oversight that may be more effective than existing institutional approaches, with relevance well beyond the Southern African region.
Jane Duncan is Professor of Digital Society at the University of Glasgow, Visiting Professor at the University of Johannesburg, and a member of IAMCR.
Allen Munoriyarwa is Associate Professor of Journalism at Walter Sisulu University, South Africa.
The above text is from the publisher’s description of the book.
Title: Democratising Spy Watching: Public Oversight of Intelligence-Driven Surveillance in Southern Africa
Editors: Jane Duncan; Allen Munoriyarwa
Published: 2025
Publisher: Scottish Universities Press