Abstract

Taking as a departure events in western Africa, this study analyses the political idea of the human in its analogue and digital versions. It considers how the digital rhetoric generated by authentic or human accounts acted as a co-occurring force in turmoil and political agitation in Guinea (Conakry), Mali, and Burkina-Faso. Focusing on the humanness of these digital-humans, it argues for a fresh approach to post-humanism which benefits from the use of an African epistemic lens and a relational approach to political theory. The analysis of the digital-human investigates posthumanism thought as the outcome of the in-between, or of intersubjective interactions among humans. The inquiry moves beyond ontology to embrace an onto-relational perspective which considers the ideas of humanness and the political in comprehensive terms, grounded on the intersubjective sphere. The analytical standpoint produces the notion of digital-humans or digital post-humans as new onto-relational beings and outlines the forthcoming political implications on modes of intersubjective interaction and the structures of power relations. Lastly, it argues for the elaboration of political models and paradigms capable of making sense of the analogue and digital political realities emerging today and possibly dominating the future