Anatomy of a Calculated Failure: An Analysis of Cameroon's 2019 National Dialogue and Anglophone Crisis

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.‎