Truly Interdisciplinary
Sally Boyani Mokaya has taken a leap into the unknown: she has travelled from Nairobi, Kenya, to Passau, Germany, to write her doctoral thesis at the University of Passau. Mokaya is part of the Research Training Group "Digital Platform Ecosystems" (DPE), funded by the German Research Foundation, a truly interdisciplinary and international group of young researchers. Her supervisors are Professor Hannah Schmid-Petri, who specializes in analyzing policy discourses, and Professor Jan Krämer, who focuses on market design in the platform economy and is well connected with stakeholders in Brussels.
In this interview, Mokaya shares insights into her research topics and initial findings, as well as what it is like to be part of such a diverse research group.
In your doctoral thesis you are researching a very topical issue: policy discourse and the policymaking process in the regulation of platforms. What exactly are you investigating?
Mokaya: I am currently conducting two different studies related to policy discourse: The first one is about global taxation policy. I'm investigating how International Organizations shape global policy discourse regarding the taxation of multinational corporations. I've observed two blocs emerging in these debates: Developed countries, supported by organizations like the OECD, often favour detailed technical standards focused on transparency and profit allocation. Developing countries, on the other hand, prefer approaches advocated on forums like the UN, emphasizing fairness, simpler rules, and ensuring that profits generated within their borders are taxed locally. This difference arises primarily from economic power dynamics, technical capacities, and varying priorities regarding revenue generation.
How can these different interests be reconciled?
Mokaya: Reconciling these interests involves creating policy forums that truly integrate perspectives from both sides. Ensuring developing countries have an equal voice on forums like the OECD, or strengthening alternative venues such as the UN can balance these interests. Practical compromises like hybrid regulatory models or differentiated responsibilities based on economic capabilities can also help bridge gaps.
I was looking for a place that would allow me to be at the intersection of policy, digital platforms and a bit of law.Sally Boyani Mokaya, PhD Candidate at the Research Training Group "Digital Platform Ecosystems" (DPE) at the University of Passau
And your second study?
Mokaya: In my other study, I look at the difficulties of enforcing the Kenya Data Protection Act (KDPA), which has been compared to the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in terms of comprehensiveness. I conduct in-depth and engaging conversations with diverse experts, including data protection regulators, legal professionals, advocacy groups, technologists, and consumer rights advocates. By doing so, I hope to gain an expert review of theoretically identified challenges impacting KDPA enforcement, such as institutional dependencies, nuanced regulatory oversights of small and medium enterprises, and cultural barriers related to the concept of data protection.
Can you elaborate on these enforcement challenges?
Mokaya: You have to understand that in Kiswahili, we don't have the term privacy or personal space. And the way we understand privacy is culturally different, because Kenya is, I would say, very communal, and information doesn't belong to you. It belongs to us, because we have this philosophy of ubuntu, which means you are, because I am. Therefore, privacy is kind of a foreign concept to us. So, if you develop the Kenyan privacy law and make it look exactly like the GDPR, it doesn't make sense to ordinary Kenyans, because it's culturally unknown and insensitive. Also, we use social media platforms very differently in Kenya than we do in Europe or in Germany.
In what way?
Mokaya: Kenyans use social media platforms for e-commerce as their marketplace, but not officially in the form of opening a shop on Instagram. Instead, they use their Instagram page. This brings up the issue of privacy violation. Here is an example: If I order a speaker phone from a page on Instagram, they take my information, my personal data, my name, where I'm staying, my phone number and transaction details, but I'm exchanging this information with a small or medium enterprise that hasn't registered with the data protection authority. So consumers are at risk of identity theft or just having their data misused. In Kenya, the electronic exchange of information is very under-regulated. When you order from Amazon in Germany, you know that’s regulated, but in Kenya we're dealing with a lot of small businesses that are not registered. And I would argue that’s the biggest challenge for data protection, more important than anything else in the GDPR.
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You have a background as a journalist in Nairobi, Kenya, including for the BBC. Why did you come to Passau to do your doctoral thesis here?
Mokaya: The first thing that attracted me to Passau was the program of the Research Training Group itself, because I was looking for a place that would allow me to be at the intersection of policy, digital platforms, and a bit of law. At some point, I even thought, "Geez, you’re crazy. You're never going to find someone who will give you permission to have such a wild combination in an interdisciplinary field." And then, one day, I saw an advertisement from the University of Passau, and literally everything I wanted was in that ad. And I thought: "Oh my God, this really exists." And that was what made me choose the University of Passau. I think, they understood that we are at a point where we can no longer conduct research isolated from other disciplines. Instead, it makes more scientific sense to actively research with integrated inputs, where we can study the political process of regulating digital platforms even before they become law while understanding the dynamics of the ecosystem. In fact, the Research Training Group Digital Platform Ecosystems (DPE) in Passau is the largest research group on digital platforms in the world, and I am very happy to be part of it.
You are just about to embark on a research stay in Manchester. What is that all about?
Mokaya: As part of the program, we are required to undertake a research study abroad as visiting scholars at a university of our choice. For me, the University of Manchester was an obvious choice, because of Professor Philip Leifeld, who is my mentor and a Mercator fellow in our research training group. He also works closely with my doctoral supervisor, Hannah Schmid-Petri, Professor of Science Communication at the University of Passau. Leifeld is also the one who proposed to use the scientific method of discourse network analysis. We are co-authoring a paper to analyze the effect of policy discourse on global taxation of multinational corporations (MNCs) by employing Discourse Network Analysis (DNA). During my stay, we will analyse the collected data and finalize the manuscript.
How does your journalistic background help you in your research?
Mokaya: Journalism taught me to clearly communicate complex issues, ask the right questions, and identify key stakeholders quickly. This has proven valuable for interviewing experts in Kenya about data protection enforcement and analyzing nuanced policy positions of international organizations. Journalism also sharpened my ability to clearly and practically interpret and connect policy discourses.
Passau is probably the best place to do your doctoral thesis. It is small enough to be welcoming, yet international enough to offer diverse perspectives and interactions.Sally Boyani Mokaya, PhD Candidate at the Research Training Group "Digital Platform Ecosystems" (DPE) at the University of Passau
How would you describe the team of the Research Training Group? What qualities should a young researcher have to join the team?
Mokaya: The Research Training Group in Passau is interdisciplinary, supportive, and open-minded, consisting of researchers working on digital governance issues from various angles. A young researcher aiming to join this team should be intellectually curious, collaborative, methodologically flexible, and comfortable engaging across different fields. They should also be proactive and willing to explore complex global issues in a critical and practical manner.
Is Passau a good place to live?
Mokaya: Yes, Passau is a wonderful place to live. It’s safe, scenic, and relaxed, making it perfect for researchers. And I go so far as to say that Passau is probably the best place to do your doctoral thesis. Living costs are very affordable, and Passau is not demanding in terms of commuting. It's 15 minutes to literally everything. There is no everyday stress that you would experience in a big city. Passau is small enough to be welcoming yet international enough to offer diverse perspectives and interactions. And if you're part of a research training group like I am, you're always surrounded by scholars, and there's always intellectual banter.
