One-Party Government and Political Development in Cameroun

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Periodical article

Title:	One-Party Government and Political Development in Cameroun
Author:	Bayart, J.F.
Year:	1973
Periodical:	African Affairs: The Journal of the Royal African Society
Volume:	72
Issue:	287
Period:	April
Pages:	125-144
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Cameroon
Subjects:	political conditions one-party systems Politics and Government
External link:	https://www.jstor.org/stable/719939
Abstract:	From 1961, when the British trust territory of West Cameroon rejected incorporation in Nigeria and opted for union with East Cameroon within the framework of a federal republic, to 1972 Cameroun political life has resolved itself into two main and closely linked themes: the maximization of the power of the president of the republic and the growing centralization of government. In 1966 the Union Camerounaise in East Cameroun and the Kamerun National Democratic Party in Western Cameroun decided to merge in the Union Nationale Camerounaise and the single party was born. The establishment of a unitary state happened in 1972 by way of a referendum. Cameroun has experienced rapid and far-reaching social change, the country's recent political experience having been one of fear and tension. The author examines the roots for the present régime looking beneath the surface appearance of overwhelming political support. Notes.