The Post-Colonial State and Economic and Political Reforms in Cameroon (original) (raw)
Related papers
The Politics of Neoliberal Reforms in Africa. State and civil society in Cameroon
2011
List of Tables ix Acknowledgements xi Abbreviations xiii Map of the Republic of Cameroon xvi 1 Contesting Neoliberal Reforms in Africa Introduction 1 The impact of neoliberalism on Africa 2 State and civil society opposition 6 Organisation of the book 13 2 The introduction of neoliberal economic and political reforms in the Cameroonian post-colonial state Introduction 21 The nature of the post-colonial state in Cameroon 24 The post-colonial state and structural adjustment 31 The post-colonial state and democratisation 35 Conclusion 43
Abstract: Toppling from an economic growth rate of 7 percent per annum in the 1970s, Cameroon lumped into an entrenched economic crisis in the mid-1980s which triggered negative growth. The paper upholds that the economic policies and structures that were put in place since independence in 1960 to the onset of the economic crisis in the late 1980s, to ensure development and growth were unhealthy mergers of totalitarian and democratic capitalism. Though some of the intentions bore the necessary parameters and good ordering to ensure balanced growth and development, implementation was entombed in a managerial web that based its planning and performance on a pseudo market. This paper maintains, therefore, that the paradigmatic development plans and parastatal explosion were cosmetic agendums for balanced development. The research builds on data collated from some secondary and primary sources which were interpreted qualitatively and presented thematically. Keywords: Cameroon, Capitalism, Economy, Economic Crisis, Development, Growth, Parastatals, Pseudo-Market
Economic neoliberalism and African development
2020
The paper analyses the possible impacts of the neoliberalism policies pursued in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) on the economic development in the region during post-independence. It first presents a brief account of the socioeconomic situation in the immediate post-independence era until the adoption of the stabilisation and structural adjustment programmes by SSA countries. The paper, then, discusses the implementation of `neoliberal' reforms in the region. It also examines SSA's growth and development performance during the pre- and post-reforms periods, and provides some insights into the driving forces behind the region's economic outcomes. The study uncovers notable differences in economic policy across SSA countries, with policy orientation in most countries reflecting `partial' rather than `pure' neoliberalism. Nevertheless, at least at the regional level, there is an apparent reversal from dismal performance to impressive growth, accompanied by major improveme...
2000
Economie politique du discours de la Banque mondiale en Afrique sub-saharienne Du catéchisme économique au fait (et méfait) missionnaire Béatrice Hibou Texte préparé pour le Joint Committee on African Studies of the Social Science Research Council Centre d'études et de recherches internationales Fondation nationale des sciences politiques Les Etudes du CERI -n°39 -mars 1998 2 Economie politique du discours de la Banque mondiale en Afrique sub-saharienne Du catéchisme économique au fait (et méfait) missionnaire Béatrice Hibou Chercheur au CNRS (CEAN, Bordeaux) Ces bailleurs de fonds se sentaient maîtres ès réalités.
Journal for Contemporary History
Cameroon is usually misconceived of as a former French colony due to its geographical location which is at the intersection of what used to be called French West Africa and French Equatorial Africa. This misconception clouds the country's triple colonial heritage that has shaped and continues to shape Cameroon's historical path and its agro-political landscape. The colonial heritage of Cameroon contributes to an understanding of key socioeconomic , political and developmental challenges the country has been facing and continues to face. This article discusses the history of Cameroon's early contacts with Europeans (Germans, French and British in particular) and how these encounters influenced and shaped the country's economic history. It highlights how colonialism was a vehicle used to incept capitalism in the country with an emphasis on cash crop farming. The article also discusses the legacy of these heritages and the strategies that were successively adopted to address economic development challenges.
This study is an assessment of the impact of neoliberalism on the economies of African states as pursued by African leaders while negating their own programmes initiated from an Africanist standpoint that seek to lift the continent out of its unfavourable relations with the Western capitalist economies. The study examines the origin and infiltration of Neoliberalism into the centre stage of African economies at a critical time Africa was designing and adopting homegrown programmes widely held as antidotes to the development needs of the continent. These African programmes such as the Lagos Plan of Action were indeed initiated as the way out of poverty, hunger and other features of underdevelopment for Post-Colonial Africa. Methodologically, this work used two broad sources categorized as primary and secondary. It establishes that the expectation of funding the homegrown initiatives from external donors is the major weakness of the African alternative strategy for development. The introduction of neoliberal policies in Africa championed by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, and the accrued huge external debt burden attached with some unrealistic conditions are among the reasons for the adoption of neoliberal policies in place of homegrown initiatives in Africa. In addition, the finding shows that lack of political will on the side of African leaders also play a key role in the adoption of neoliberal policies as against the African initiatives developmental strategies. The paper concludes that, African development can be achieved through the homegrown initiative only with the political will of African leaders with active commitment and internal funding.
International Journal of History and Cultural Studies (IJHCS) International Journal of History and Cultural Studies (IJHCS), 2018
For most parts of British rule in the Southern Cameroons and a decade into the existence of the West Cameroon state of the Cameroon Federation, many reflections were brought on board to enhance the level of economic development of the territory. This became the crux behind the creation of the Southern Cameroons Development Agency (S.C.D.A) which was transformed to the West Cameroon Development Agency (W.C.D.A) in 1961. This paper maintains that, the Development Agency from its inception in 1956 contained a lofty blueprint for the development of the territory, especially, in the agro-industrial and commercial domains. Nevertheless, the manner in which the Agency collapsed in the early seventies could be attributed to the merger in diverse proportion of unapprised state-centric practices and some irresponsible corporate cultures. This study has been built from primary and secondary sources and employed a qualitative research approach. Keywords: Economic development, hope and despair, Southern Cameroons, West Cameroons
‘With a Friend like this . . .’: Shielding Cameroon from Democratization
Jounral of Asian and African Studies, 2013
The following paper uses the case-study of Cameroon to examine how critical donors can shield their close allies from pressure to pursue political liberalization. As the wave of democratic reform swept through Africa in the early 1990s, similar to that going through North Africa and the Middle East today, domestic opposition pushed the ruling clique in Cameroon towards pluralism. However, in this case, instead of encouraging democracy, France helped President Paul Biya to maintain his grip on power. As will be demonstrated, massive amounts of French aid helped the regime survive both internal and external pressure for change. Under a political conditionality approach other secondary donors tried to use their foreign assistance to help push for liberal-democratic reforms in Cameroon. However, such efforts are frequently undermined by what the donor perceives as its self-interest. This research attempts to illustrate this general point by examining the relationship between Cameroon and France and the maintenance of authoritarianism in the defense of common interests.
Economic Liberalization versus Political Democratization: A Social-Democratic Resolution
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. This content downloaded from 142.150.190.39 on Fri,