Issues of minority rights in the context of political liberalization: the case of Anglophone Cameroon
Date
2009-06-30T07:21:08Z
Authors
Anye, Fru Emmanuel
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Abstract
This thesis concerns itself with issues of minority rights in the context of political
liberalization and how political liberalization has triggered renewed claims to rights in
Anglophone Cameroon. This thesis examines how Anglophone Cameroon was
systematically reduced to a minority status and how the Anglophone elites are contesting
this position.
The thesis begins with some historical considerations and moves on to discuss the various
phases of colonialism, using historical material to respond to whether or not the seeds of
the current conflict are to be found in the way in which colonialism was implemented in
Cameroon. The colonial experiences of the Cameroons under the Germans, French and
British have not only been the basis for the entity Cameroon, but have also made
numerous contributions, negative and positive to the country’s social, economic,
demographic and political history.
Having considered the historical context, the thesis moves on to discuss the rise of
Anglophone Nationalism both at home and abroad. The thesis argues that state policies
between 1990 and 2000 led to the development of Anglophone nationalism and the
formation of many pressure groups to fight for the autonomy of Anglophone Cameroon.
However, because of the government’s silence over the Anglophone problem, this thesis
examines attempts to find a national solution to the Anglophone problem to a shift that
goes beyond the question of national sovereignty.
In analyzing the virtual imagined communities of Anglophone Cameroon, this thesis
suggests that cyber nationalism is an effective tool to create networks of resistance to
government policies and practice. Anglophone virtual communities in cyberspace have
used the Internet as a means to promote a counter discourse on human rights, economic
development and democracy in Cameroon. In this regard, the Anglophone online nations
have gone a long way to create a substantial impact on events in Cameroon by serving as
an important source of information to the Anglophone people.
As a way of addressing the limits of the discourse on Anglophone nationalism, the thesis suggests that a lot has happened between the Anglophones and Francophones in terms of intermarriages, investment, migration and common lifestyle that the dichotomy between the two has become blurred.