Political polarization and press freedom in Africa: a scoping review (of research literature)

Political and media polarization tend to perpetuate divisions and audience perceptions of bias, leading to social unrest and the undermining of consensus-building. This scoping review provides an overview of empirical studies on polarization and press freedom between 2014 and 2024 to ascertain the nature of research, thematic areas covered, and gaps that could inform future research. Aided by Arksey and O’Malley’s methodological framework, 28 articles retrieved from four prominent journalism and media studies databases and publishing outlets that met the inclusion criteria of the study were thematically analyzed. The findings show limited publications of articles in African-based journals compared to their Western counterparts. Ethiopia emerged as a focal point for most of the studies on polarization and press freedom, particularly along ethnic divides. The study identified thematic areas covered to include assessment of the media environment, media polarization and political participation through the media, interrogation of Western conceptualizations and theoretical lenses for understanding media polarization and proposals for African-centered ones, journalists and civil society’s role in holding political actors accountable in polarized environments, and journalists’ professional challenges in polarized media contexts. The study recommends, among others, that future studies further interrogate African-centered conceptualizations around media polarization.