In its latest report, the NGO International Crisis Group sees in the Catholic Church a possible mediator between the belligerents.
But she is quick to point out that the many divisions (she could have added corruption) of this institution could compromise a possible mediation.
One of the questions that divide the clergy is that of the form of the Cameroonian state: to get out of the crisis, should Cameroon become a federation or apply a real decentralization?
The debate is also agitating civil society. The most audible voices call for a return to federalism (which was the form of the Cameroonian state between 1961 and 1972). This is understandable: for many English-speaking Cameroonians, the federal form evokes a more favorable era.
For some French-speaking Cameroonians, it has the face of the obvious: it has existed in the past, many “anglophones” claim it again, this community is also a minority; giving it greater autonomy would necessarily solve the problem.
But an examination of the facts calls for caution. Nigeria is a federal state, which does not prevent a strong political instability or even secessionist breakouts since its independence. Ethiopia has gone even further in the federal logic, since its federalism has been ethnic since 1991.
Its Constitution even proclaims an “unconditional right” to secession. However, ethnic tensions are still alive and, despite significant economic progress, the country has still not found, far from it, the political stability and civil peace that ethno-federalism was aiming for.
Of course, there are cases of “successful” federations. But the existence of counter-examples should at least make the partisans of federalism reflect. Why Cameroon would be different from Nigeria or Ethiopia?
On paper, decentralization is also a reasonable option. In fact, it often comes down to the sole decentralization of powers. It is the decentralization of resources that gives regions autonomy. And therefore without real fiscal space, that is to say without political will to strengthen the territories, there is little decentralization.
In the case of Cameroon, both federalism and decentralization are bad solutions because they respond to a bad problem. These are indeed technical solutions to a fundamentally political problem.
The federal form of the state certainly contributes to the good functioning of Canada or Switzerland, but it is not the underlying reason for the cohesion and stability of these countries. On the other hand, Tanzania, for example, manages harmoniously its great ethnic diversity without recourse to federalism.
At the base of the “success” of the Canadian or Swiss experience, there is, as the philosopher Ernest Renan (1823-1892) would say, “the current consent, the desire to live together”.
Without this “common will in the present”, without this “everyday plebiscite”, without “this clearly expressed desire to continue the life together”, the form of the State, whatever it may be, will not prevent the implosion of Cameroon.
In a context of strong ethnic polarization, there is even reason to fear that, far from calming the claims of one and the other, the return to federalism or even the application of a real decentralization does not stir up separatist pushes everywhere in the country.
We must therefore move from a technical debate to a debate
One of the questions that divide the clergy is that of the form of the Cameroonian state: to get out of the crisis, should Cameroon become a federation or apply a real decentralization?
The debate is also agitating civil society. The most audible voices call for a return to federalism (which was the form of the Cameroonian state between 1961 and 1972). This is understandable: for many English-speaking Cameroonians, the federal form evokes a more favorable era.
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| Anglophone Crisis : “Federalism and Decentralization are no Better Solutions” |
But an examination of the facts calls for caution. Nigeria is a federal state, which does not prevent a strong political instability or even secessionist breakouts since its independence. Ethiopia has gone even further in the federal logic, since its federalism has been ethnic since 1991.
Its Constitution even proclaims an “unconditional right” to secession. However, ethnic tensions are still alive and, despite significant economic progress, the country has still not found, far from it, the political stability and civil peace that ethno-federalism was aiming for.
Of course, there are cases of “successful” federations. But the existence of counter-examples should at least make the partisans of federalism reflect. Why Cameroon would be different from Nigeria or Ethiopia?
On paper, decentralization is also a reasonable option. In fact, it often comes down to the sole decentralization of powers. It is the decentralization of resources that gives regions autonomy. And therefore without real fiscal space, that is to say without political will to strengthen the territories, there is little decentralization.
In the case of Cameroon, both federalism and decentralization are bad solutions because they respond to a bad problem. These are indeed technical solutions to a fundamentally political problem.
The federal form of the state certainly contributes to the good functioning of Canada or Switzerland, but it is not the underlying reason for the cohesion and stability of these countries. On the other hand, Tanzania, for example, manages harmoniously its great ethnic diversity without recourse to federalism.
At the base of the “success” of the Canadian or Swiss experience, there is, as the philosopher Ernest Renan (1823-1892) would say, “the current consent, the desire to live together”.
Without this “common will in the present”, without this “everyday plebiscite”, without “this clearly expressed desire to continue the life together”, the form of the State, whatever it may be, will not prevent the implosion of Cameroon.
In a context of strong ethnic polarization, there is even reason to fear that, far from calming the claims of one and the other, the return to federalism or even the application of a real decentralization does not stir up separatist pushes everywhere in the country.
We must therefore move from a technical debate to a debate
Source -- Cameroon Daily Journal
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