Anatomy of a Calculated Failure: An Analysis of Cameroon's 2019 National Dialogue and Anglophone Crisis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65826/IJPCR.1.1.2026.12Keywords:
Anglophone Crisis, Cameroon, Major National Dialogue, Conflict resolution, PeacebuildingAbstract
This paper engages in an in-depth overview, theoretically informed examination of the 2019 Major National Dialogue (MND), assessing its incapacity in addressing the Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon. This paper argues that the failure of the MND was not simply unfortunate but rather a direct result of its fundamentally flawed framework which favoured a state-centric, top-down approach against genuine, inclusive peacebuilding. Using qualitative case study approach involving secondary data, reports and documents, the study employs a theoretical framework integrating John Burton's Human Needs Theory and Johan Galtung's concepts of positive and negative peace to dissect the dialogue's fundamental shortcomings. This assessment shows that the MND’s incapacity resulted from a profound lack of inclusivity of key stakeholders (belligerents), agenda imposition that shunned discussions about the conflict's root causes, and the notorious non-involvement of a neutral, third-party mediator. The paper concludes that the MND used a surface level approach in conflict management which could only result in a limited, superficial and unsustainable negative peace. By incapacitating the Anglophone population's integral human needs for identity, recognition, and meaningful participation, the dialogue lost its capacity for resolution and fostered conflict intensification and intractability which has unravelled a catastrophic humanitarian crisis in its aftermath.
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