The Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon: A Geopolitical Analysis

Abstract

Anglophone Cameroon is the present-day North West and South West (English Speaking) regions of Cameroon herein referred to as No-So. These regions of Cameroon have been restive since 2016 in what is popularly referred to as the Anglophone crisis. The crisis has been transformed to a separatist movement, with some Anglophones clamoring for an independent No-So, re-baptized as "Ambazonia". The purpose of the study is to illuminate the geopolitical perspective of the conflict which has been evaded by many scholars. Most scholarly write-ups have rather focused on the causes, course, consequences and international interventions in the crisis, with little attention to the geopolitical undertones. In terms of methodology, the paper makes use of qualitative data analysis. Unlike previous research works that link the unfolding of the crisis to Anglophone marginalization, historical and cultural difference, the findings from this paper reveals that the strategic location of No-So, the presence of resources, demographic considerations and other geopolitical parameters are proving to be responsible for the heightening of the Anglophone crisis in Cameroon and in favour of the quest for an independent Ambazonia. This article however upholds that the No-So is still part of Cameroon's territorial space, considering the fact that Ambazonia is not internationally recognized as a sovereign state.

Discovering the mesoscale for chains of conflict

“…The candidate causal connections that we find tend to cluster in geographic regions including the Sahel from multiple ongoing conflicts ( 27 , 28 ), northeastern Nigeria from Boko Haram ( 29 ), Nigeria and Cameroon from Ambazonian Separatist ( 30 ), Northern Africa from civil war ( 31 ), the Horn of Africa from state failure and insecurity ( 32 ), the Darfur region from genocide and ethnic hostilities ( 33 ), Angola and Congo from civil war ( 34 ), and Madagascar from the Dahalo Militia ( 35 ) as we show in Fig. 3 a.…”

Stakeholder Perceptions on Political Conflict and Trust in Authorities to Develop Ecotourism in Cameroon

“…The recent years have posed a number of challenges to Cameroonians, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the separatist conflict in the country placing a further strain on already stressed individuals (Djoumessi, 2021;Ekah, 2019). These crises have also inhibited the continued development and growth of the ecotourism sector in the country, resulting in degrowth due to the inability of tourists to access the country due to lockdowns, or travel within the country stemming from safety and security concerns of the separatist conflict.…”

Language and peace on WhatsApp and Facebook messages on the Anglophone crisis in Cameroon

“…The socio-political upheaval in Cameroon led a number of researchers to look, listen and speak; this provided abundant literature on the Anglophone crisis in Cameroon from different dimensions. It has been studied from the educational perspective (Akame, Crockett & Awutarh, 2021), geopolitical and rhetorical (Ekah, 2019;Ascone & Renaut, 2019), and linguistic perspectives (Tabe & Fieze, 2018;Tchouape, 2019). These scholars used different approaches and obtained both convergent findings (Tabe & Fieze, 2018;Tchouape, 2019) and divergent (Ekah, 2019;Ascone & Renaut, 2019).…”

“…It has been studied from the educational perspective (Akame, Crockett & Awutarh, 2021), geopolitical and rhetorical (Ekah, 2019;Ascone & Renaut, 2019), and linguistic perspectives (Tabe & Fieze, 2018;Tchouape, 2019). These scholars used different approaches and obtained both convergent findings (Tabe & Fieze, 2018;Tchouape, 2019) and divergent (Ekah, 2019;Ascone & Renaut, 2019). These studies revealed that violence and disruption may have sought educational alternatives through informal learning methods, as well as relocating to neighbouring towns in Northwest and Southwest of the country or other relatively sub-urban areas of the Anglophone regions.…”

“…Moreover, the strategic location of Southern Cameroons, the presence of natural resources (Flint, 2006;Kurecic, 2015), demographic considerations and other geopolitical parameters are proving to be responsible for the heightening of the Anglophone crisis (Nfi, 2014;Ekah, 2019).…”