This book tracks and critiques the impact of the internet in Africa. It explores the legal policy implications of, and legal responses to, the internet in matters straddling human rights, development, trade, criminal law, intellectual property, and social justice from the perspective of several African countries and the region. Well-known and emerging African scholars consider whether access to the internet is a human right, the implications on the right to privacy, e-commerce, cybercrime, the opportunities and dangers of admitting electronic evidence, the balancing of freedom of expression with the protection of intellectual property, and how different African legal systems address this tension. This book will be an invaluable resource for a wide range of stakeholders, including researchers, scholars and postgraduate students; policymakers and legislators; lawyers and judicial officers; crime-fighting agencies; national human rights institutions; civil society organisations; international and regional organisations; and human rights monitoring bodies.

The book brings together a number of leading experts in the fields of public law, political science, and democratization studies to discuss problems of accountability, identify ways of making African governments accountable, and describe the extent to which these mechanisms work in practice. It presents new knowledge about legal and political developments in a number of African countries that is relevant to the policy goal of developing and deepening democratic governance and accountable government on the continent.

"Accountable Government" "in Africa" will be of interest to anyone with an interest in democracy and governance on the African continent, including students and practitioners in the fields of public law, public administration, political studies, and African studies.