Failed Democratic Transition in Cameroon: A Human Rights Explanation

I. Introduction

Respect for human rights in Africa is more often the exception than the rule. Some African leaders claim cultural relativism in defending the withholding of fundamental human rights to women, other leaders claim the need to repress individual human rights and freedoms to preserve stability and economic growth for the whole country. Yet others claim that calls for minority language and cultural rights simply promote sectarianism and treasonous secessionist movements. Whatever the particular case, the rights and freedoms of individual Africans have often been sacrificed at the altar of culture, economic growth, political stability, and national unity.

Much of the recent literature on Africa focuses on the prospects for democratic transition and the role of civil society in bringing about a transition to and ultimate consolidation of democracy. ² But few African countries have achieved a genuine democratic transition ³ or consolidation ⁴ beyond a mere adoption of multiparty politics. I argue that this is because few African societies are rights-respective societies, and few African regimes are rights-protective regimes. The focus should not simply be on what type of democracy exists (whether liberal, social, no-party/one-party) but rather, the foundation upon which it is laid. In other words, too much scholarship focuses on the institutions necessary for democracy, but not enough examines the level of "human rights culture" or rights-respective culture that is a necessary foundation for democracy. ⁵

Ironically, it comes as some surprise to analysts that once stable, relatively economically developed, and so-called "democratic" countries like Cote d'Ivoire or Zimbabwe can quickly degenerate into authoritarian and human rights abusive regimes and societies. Cameroon is a similar country, in that it has been a relative paragon of stability and economic growth (at least until the mid-1980s) in Africa. But Cameroon's political stability has been artificially based on the suppression of political participation. Cameroon lacks both a rights-respective society and a rights-protective regime, yet, it is formally considered a multiparty democracy. I argue, in the case of Cameroon, that the lack of a rights-respective society and a rights-protective regime not only undermines the prospects for democratic consolidation, but also heightens the potential for future violence and chaos. When formal mechanisms of democracy are grafted onto a political and social system that lacks a rights-respective culture, competition breeds violence and chaos, not democratic progress.

Unfortunately, too many donor countries are satisfied with the mere formal display of democracy, ignoring issues of substantive democracy and human rights abuses. It is important to note that economic and political rights are fundamentally intertwined. Civil and political liberties, for example, are sometimes violated because of a lack of economic rights. Instead of narrowly approaching the issue of democracy by focusing on political democracy alone, a human rights approach takes into account both the political and economic aspects of democracy and thus gives us a fuller appreciation of the factors necessary for a successful transition to and consolidation of democracy.

This article will first examine the theoretical importance of developing a rights-respective society and a concomitant rights-protective regime, and then apply it to the case study of Cameroon, to explain the lack of democratic development there, and the prospect for future violence and chaos.

II. Defining a Rights-Respective Society and Rights-Protective Regime

According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ⁶ human rights are rights that one is entitled to simply because one is a human being. These rights apply universally to all people, at all times, and under any circumstances. Human dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all people are fundamental for freedom and justice. A rights-respective society would embody these fundamental values and civil/political, social, economic, and cultural rights as outlined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ⁷ and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. ⁸ Although regimes...