Dans la littérature existante, les auteurs associent l'absence et la non-récurrence des intrusions militaires dans le champ politique à la peur des sanctions d'un éventuel échec, à des nominations militaires sélectives sur la base identitaire, à la mise en place de contrepoids militaires, à l'institutionnalisation d'un régime de privilèges militaires et au sens de professionnalisme de l'armée. Partant du postulat que les militaires sont des acteurs rationnels dont la loyauté et la fidélité peuvent évoluer en fonction des conjonctures et des « fenêtres d'opportunités » qui se présentent à eux, cet article montre que ces facteurs ont un pouvoir explicatif limité et soutient qu'une surveillance efficace – aussi bien des militaires que des acteurs sociopolitiques qui peuvent leur donner un prétexte d'intrusion dans le champ politique – est le facteur déterminant. Au-delà de la non-occurrence du coup d’État, cette explication contribue à la littérature sur les stratégies de survie autoritaire. Cette littérature met un accent exclusif sur la répression, la cooptation et la légitimation ; or, la surveillance s'entremêle avec ces stratégies, et ce sont leurs effets combinés qui créent les conditions de la persistance autoritaire.

Lack of nutrition knowledge and poor dietary practices have profound adverse implications on nutritional status particularly among displaced children. Evidence of the effectiveness of nutrition education interventions in improving the nutritional status of internally displaced schoolchildren in Cameroon is scarce. The study objective was to assess the effects of nutrition education on the nutritional status of internally displaced schoolchildren in the West and Littoral Regions of Cameroon. A pre-test-post-test randomised experimental study design was used with an experimental and control group of 160 children from ten primary schools and their caregivers. Anthropometric, biochemical, and clinical signs of malnutrition, dietary, and health status of the children were evaluated, and the caregiver’s nutrition knowledge was assessed in both groups at baseline and end-line with the aid of standard anthropometric and biochemical equipment and recorded in pretested questionnaires. Nutrition education was carried out only with the caregivers of children in the test group. In the test group, significant beneficial outcomes were noticed only for Bitot’s spot (p = 0.047), pallor (0.025), frequency of consumption of fruits (p = 0.002) and vegetables (p = 0.036), caregiver’s nutrition knowledge (p = 0.000), all health-seeking practices of the children (p < 0.05) except immunisation (p = 0.957). No significant change was seen in any of the parameters studied among the participants in the control group. Nutrition education alone was not effective in improving the nutritional status of the children and should be implemented together with other food-based nutrition interventions to improve the nutritional status of internally displaced schoolchildren in the West and Littoral Regions of Cameroon.

Since independence, the “Anglophone” and “Francophone” identities (both legacies of British and French colonialism, respectively) have remained the dominant national identity of Cameroonians. This linguistic national identity was formalized by the adoption of bilingualism at the dawn of independence and the enactment of English and French as the two official languages of the country. Nationalism and national integration in the Cameroonian context therefore revolve around the cohabitation of the aforementioned distinct linguistic and cultural identities, which harbors significant incompatibilities. This article probes into the effectiveness of the cohabitation model of nation-building in Cameroon and attempts a new alternative. A survey was conducted to sample the opinion of Cameroonians on national identity and nationalism in Cameroon. The results indicate there are enormous challenges with the implementation of the cohabitation model, which an overwhelming majority of respondent believe has a negative impact on national integration. A new approach dubbed “Civic-multicultural model” is proposed. This model is based on the “Kamerun Idea,” which is a glaring reminder that before being “anglicized” by the British on the one side of the Mungo river, and “gallicized” by the French on the other side, the inhabitants offshore the “Rios dos Cameroes” were first “kamerunized” by the Germans.

Official protection of an exploited species sometimes precedes any quantitative understanding of its use, including any dependence of local residents on it for food and livelihood. Conservation initiatives could suffer without this information. The Goliath frog Conraua goliath is iconic globally because of its large size, and is categorized as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. The main threat to this species in Cameroon is overexploitation, but any associated socio-economic aspects of this have not been quantified. We provide insights into local perceptions of the Goliath frog and its consumption through structured interviews with 223 people living alongside this species. The Goliath frog is well known and hunted both for home consumption and the wild meat trade. We trailed seven collaborative Cameroonian Goliath frog hunters over two seasons to determine offtake. A total of 192 Goliath frogs were collected by these hunters, peaking in March. The hunters used nets, shotguns and spears. Their catch was eaten at home or sold fresh within the community or to travellers for XAF 1,500–5,000 (USD 3–10) each. We also studied the Goliath frog trade by examining the databases of the Cameroonian Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife, and CITES. CITES and hunters reported large exports of Goliath frogs but no trade was documented by the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife. To support conservation planning, this study provides preliminary quantitative information on the extent of the threat of hunting to this Endangered frog.

Despite the influx of Chinese FDI at the dawn of the 21st century and decades of neo-liberal, market-oriented economic policies in Africa, the pervasive nature of institutional voids (particularly in the labor market) has been constantly flagged as an impediment to socio-economic development in the continent. This has prompted calls for more research into the ability of independent African states to pursue viable labor market policy options, from a business system perspective. While institutional theory (specifically the notion of institutional voids) suggests the use of market-supporting and contract-enforcement structures and processes to enable the efficient functioning of the economy, it does not address the effect of strong external ‘powers’ on weak local institutions in developing countries. This study qualitatively explores how the shifting geopolitical landscape (power) from Western to Chinese sources of FDI shaped the nature and evolution of labor market institutions in Cameroon. The findings show that an entrenched parochial and crony Cameroonian institutional context was at the mercy of transnational forces playing a pivotal role, rather than coherent national socio-economic policy options, in shaping labor market institutions in the country. In an act of political complicity, the dynamics that flowed from Chinese FDI have engendered a regressive turn toward the failed nationalistic labor market policies pursued by Cameroon after independence. This article contributes to revealing the debilitating role of Chinese and Western FDI, and the ensuing dynamics, in the creation and sustenance of labor market institutions in a parochial developing economic context characterized by regulative institutional voids.

Information on pangolin life history and ecology is becoming increasingly available in African countries through community-based surveys and camera-trapping. However, there is a paucity of information on the largely arboreal black-bellied pangolin Phataginus tetradactyla, which is categorized as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. By targeting fallen trees or logs with camera traps we recorded the black-bellied pangolin opportunistically in Deng Deng National Park (East Region, Cameroon), a locality within the presumed distribution of the species within Cameroon. We obtained a low trapping rate of 0.063 events per 100 trap-days and the capture probability was one event recorded over 1,571 trap-days (0.0006 captures per day). Deploying camera traps that focus on fallen trees or logs could be explored as a method for detecting black-bellied pangolins.

We document a process initiated by Indigenous Peoples in Cameroon that seeks to open a dialogue with key conservation actors to work towards community-led, rights-based alternatives to so-called fortress conservation. In June 2021, Gbabandi, a platform of forest Indigenous Peoples, invited key conservation actors to a 1-day listening event. This represented an important precedent, reversing the usual approach to dialogue in which Indigenous Peoples are invited to participate at various levels in externally directed processes. In this case the space for engagement was opened by Indigenous Peoples on their own terms based on Indigenous ways of organizing, and conservation organizations were invited to participate. Indigenous Peoples gave testimonies of physical violence and abuse in various protected areas across Cameroon. Conservation actors acknowledged there had been violations of human rights and there was substantial discussion about threats to wildlife and the need for more inclusive approaches to conservation, redevelopment of management plans and renegotiation of access for Indigenous communities based on community consent. The long-term impact remains to be seen but the immediate effect of an Indigenous-led process was that key decision makers in conservation in Cameroon heard directly from the people affected by their decisions and, since the event, have been more active than previously in contacting and consulting Indigenous Peoples about how protected areas are managed. Gbabandi is hopeful that this type of initiative will change the dialogue between communities and protected area managers and will lead to real changes in conservation practice.

La communication politique conventionnelle occulte l’usage des symboles culturels de l’apparence que sont les vêtements lors des campagnes électorales. Or le vêtement est incorporé à l’œuvre de conquête et de conservation du pouvoir politique du fait de son potentiel de séduction. En prenant pour site d’observation la campagne pour l’élection présidentielle camerounaise d’octobre 2018, cet article entreprend de rendre intelligible le comportement vestimentaire des candidats. Les données de cette étude sont issues d’une observation participante lors de meetings et de l’analyse des affiches de campagnes de cette élection. Il en ressort que le vêtement est un média de l’expression de la personnalité et des stratégies de séduction des candidats qui agit davantage comme un stimuli de la mobilisation que comme un déterminant du vote.

Turacos are birds used as status symbols in certain African cultures. Despite this cultural value, turacos are increasingly threatened by habitat loss and illegal hunting. We tested the hypothesis that the high cultural value associated with turacos means local people are willing to conserve them and their habitats. To this end, we examined the traditional uses of turacos and how their cultural value could facilitate conservation interventions. We administered an open-ended questionnaire to 180 households during January 2017–November 2019. We found the feathers of three species of turacos to be associated with qualities such as social esteem and power: Bannerman's turaco Tauraco bannermani (categorized as Endangered on the IUCN Red List), green turaco Tauraco persa (Least Concern) and great blue turaco Corythaeola cristata (Least Concern). People were generally supportive of efforts to protect turacos because of a strong connection between these birds and the local culture, supporting our hypothesis. This particularly applied to people of high social standing such as chiefs and village elders who use turaco feathers to gain public distinction. Feathers were also used by herbalists for traditional medicine, and hunters used the birds’ calls as a time indicator. Feathers are generally obtained through opportunistic collection and a sustainable, traditional hunting system, but we also found that some people hunt turacos to sell them as pets. We recommend that conservation interventions make use of the cultural values associated with these iconic species, together with implementing alternative sources of livelihoods, to promote behaviours that help achieve conservation objectives in the area.

With the enactment of anti-homosexuality laws in the 1960s, Cameroon’s government officially endorsed heterosexualist ideologies which legitimize the alienation and criminalization of minority and nonconforming sexual and gender identities. One group, the so-called garçons manqués, embodies the stigmatized masculine or “butch” lesbian identity. The political management of lesbianism in Cameroon is ambivalent, however, with respect to sport, and particularly regarding the national pastime, football. Whereas masculine lesbians are routinely branded as “butches” or “sexual predators” who threaten African hetero-patriarchy, “strong women"” (femmes fortes) are celebrated as pivotal to the national ambition. Cameroon’s government strategically amalgamates both heteronationalism and homonationalism in the interest of national pride.

In Cameroon, >90% of cattle are considered exposed to African animal trypanosomiasis (AAT) infection, with the presence of tsetse rendering cattle husbandry as a very difficult proposition. A systematic review of data on AAT and tsetse from 1990 to 2021 was conducted to develop a national atlas. The review identified 74 relevant scientific documents, with three pathogenic Trypanosoma species (Trypanosoma vivax, T. congolense and T. brucei s.l.) most frequently identified as causing AAT. Trypanosoma grayi, T. theileri, T. simiae and the human African trypanosomiasis causative agent T. brucei gambiense were also identified in a wide range of hosts. The tsetse fly fauna of Cameroon comprises nine species, with Glossina palpalis palpalis and G. fuscipes fuscipes the most widely distributed following their identification in seven and five of the 10 regions, respectively. Two species, Glossina nigrofusca and G. pallicera pallicera appeared to be rare and were restricted to both forest and protected areas. The presence of AAT is associated with the presence of tsetse in the livestock–human–wildlife interface of Cameroon. AAT occurs beyond the tsetse belts of the country where mechanical vectors are abundant. This study provides AAT and tsetse maps to support ongoing interventions in Cameroon.

For many mammal species, converting dung density into population density requires accurate estimates of defaecation rate and dung survival time. The latter parameter probably varies seasonally. In Nki National Park, south-east Cameroon, we monitored 216 dung piles of the blue duiker Philantomba monticola and 373 of the red duiker group (Cephalophus spp.), major game animals in Central Africa, and estimated dung survival time across seasons. Mean survival time was 6.83 days in the major dry season and 1.21–1.81 in other seasons for the blue duiker, and 7.37 and 1.53–4.05 for red duikers, lower than the values conventionally used for density estimations in Central Africa (i.e. 18 days for the blue duiker and 21 days for red duikers). Overall, beetles removed half of the dung within 1 day of deposition. However, the proportion of dung piles that beetles removed was significantly lower in the major dry season, and other dung piles remained longer until they disappeared as a result of other factors. As shorter dung survival time results in higher estimates of population density, our findings imply that in forests with intense beetle activity, duiker densities are higher than those based on the conventional values of dung survival time. Duiker densities and dung survival time should be estimated simultaneously. To minimize the bias introduced by rapid removal of fresh dung by beetles, only fresh dung (< 3 hours old) should be monitored when estimating mean dung survival time.

Presidential term limit provisions are often perceived as a feature of modern democratic systems. It has been argued that their existence is a key intervention mechanism to pre-empt some undemocratic outcomes associated with incumbency advantages. In 2008, the Constitution of Cameroon was amended to abolish the presidential term limit. More than ten years on, there are ostensible signs of a democratic decline. This article takes a retrospective look at the constitutional amendment to assess its constitutionality. It is argued that a conclusion on the constitutionality of the amendment may not be unequivocal. Nevertheless, there are substantial grounds for considering the constitutional change as a constitutional dismemberment. This is premised on the fact that, although the amendment followed the normal rules for constitutional amendments, the transformation amounted to a fundamental break with the constitutional commitment to democracy that underpinned the adoption of the 1996 Constitution.

A growing literature has begun to more closely examine African legislatures. However, most of this research has been attentive to emerging democratic settings, and particularly the experiences of a select number of English-speaking countries. By contrast, Cameroon is a Francophone majority country that reintroduced multiparty politics in the early 1990s but continues to exhibit significant authoritarian tendencies. This article provides a longitudinal analysis of Cameroon's National Assembly and builds on a unique biographical dataset of over 900 members of parliament between 1973 and 2019. The article describes changes in the structure and orientation of the legislature as well as the social profile of its members, in particular following the transition to multipartyism. While the legislature in Cameroon remains primarily a tool of political control, it is more dynamic, and the mechanisms used to manage elites within the context of complex multiethnic politics have evolved.