Title

President Paul Biya and Cameroon’s Anglophone Crisis: A Catalog of Miscalculations

Author(s)

Julius A. Amin, University of DaytonFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2021

Publication Source

Africa Today

Abstract

The historical literature on Cameroon’s Anglophone Crisis traces its origin to the failure to implement the Foumban Constitutional Agreement. The current study adds a new perspective: Based on extensive field work in Cameroon and a variety of primary and secondary sources, this paper argues that Cameroon’s Anglophone Crisis, which began in October 2016, degenerated into violence because of a catalogue of miscalculations made by President Paul Biya’s regime. It also argues that the crisis has had a devastating impact on the way of life in the Anglophone region. This paper concludes with recommendations on what needs to be done to turn the tide in the Anglophone region. This study not only fills an important gap in the literature on the Anglophone Crisis and on the struggle for change in the country; it also contributes to postcolonial Cameroonian and African historiography overall.

Inclusive pages

95-122

ISBN/ISSN

0001-9887

Document Version

Published Version

Comments

The document available for download from the supplemental content section is the working version of a paper accepted for publication in Africa Today, Vol. 68, Issue 1 (fall 2021).

The published version (https://doi.org/10.2979/africatoday.68.1.05) will be available following the publisher's required 18-month embargo.

Publisher

Indiana University Press

Volume

68

Issue

1

Peer Reviewed

yes

eCommons Citation

Amin, Julius A. "President Paul Biya and Cameroon's Anglophone Crisis: A Catalog of Miscalculations." Africa Today 68, no. 1 (2021): 95-122. doi:10.2979/africatoday.68.1.05