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CALL FOR PAPERS
SPECIAL EDITION
THEME:
A Nation in
Disarray: Conflicting Anthologies of
a Lost Generation under President
Paul Biya, 1982 – 2008.
OVERVIEW
While trying to assess post-independence chaos, public
policy and development analysts have
generally posited that developing
nations today even face more
internal challenges than industrial
countries did in their formative
stages. Images from Cameroon mostly
consist of corruption;
disfranchisement; ethnic oligarchy;
abuse of democratic principles;
closing down of independent news
agencies; political anarchy; and the
harassment and persecution of
political opponents, human rights
activists, and critical academics.
The most significant popular challenge to state authority
to arise in contemporary Cameroonian
history was the youths protest
movement that shook the nation in
February 2008. Uncontrolled and
furious young activists rose up
against hyper-inflation, access to
basic education, and the planned
constitutional amendment to allow
Paul Biya (who has been running the
country since 1982) to seek endless
presidential mandates. As part of
the global geriatric order, the
ruling nomenclature designed a
consistently and coordinated
strategy to advance its political
interests and consolidate its hold
on power.
The state, police, military, and special anti-terrorists
units all demonstrated a
Machiavellian ability in their
reactionary responses. They
implemented repressive policies
through the persistent application
of very well articulated tactics of
extrajudicial killings, oppression,
arbitrary arrest and detention,
torture, and imprisonments. There
have been no fundamental changes in
ideas and attitudes in much of
Cameroon that would make civil
unrest obsolete. With no hope for
its abandoned youth, public support
for juvenile delinquency could
therefore be seen as an intrinsic
ingredient of the Cameroonian
political culture.
YOUTH
CHALLENGES
The youth uprising to popular insurrection coincides with
the great events and activities that
shaped the last quarter of twentieth
century African history: poor
learning conditions; unfair trade;
socio-economic decay; ethnic
oligarchy; electoral flaws; fiscal
irregularities; corruption;
confiscation of political power; the
breach of the social contract;
culture of favoritism and ethnic
patronages; the growing colonial and
imperialistic powers of foreign
countries on the local market; the
quest for greater human freedoms;
and lack of development planning.
Though we have moved beyond economic
disintegration and the ideology of
violence as an instrument of
political expression in modern
times, yet in reality, the
disgruntled Cameroonian generation
is still confronted with all the
contradictions and ambiguities about
employment, social welfare, equal
opportunities, socio-economic
progress, and political
disfranchisement
Should it be said that Cameroonian youths now have
little faith about their ability
to change their own destiny? Do they
have a say in the conduct of the
affairs of their nation? Are they
victims of the confiscation of
political power by a selfish and
self-interested oligarchy? At the
outset, deconstructing development
priorities reveals that the youth
holds a central position in any
economic development cycle. In other
words, youth oriented policies have
been prolific in the production of
states and are the ever-present
counterpart that makes the dominant
development theories effective and
complete. An understanding of the
nature, challenges, and strategies
facing youth welfare is crucial to
poverty eradication, social welfare,
economic reconstruction, and human
development.
REQUEST FOR
ARTICLES
The Cameroon Journal on Democracy and Human Rights (CJDHR)
invites the submission of articles
for its Special Edition to be
published in early 2009. The
purpose is to make history by
providing readers with a wide
interdisciplinary landscape with
which to assess the role and place
of the youth in Cameroon’s
development policies and political
culture. Article with great focus on
the role of youths in the events of
February 2008 and beyond are highly
encouraged.
The CJDHR is a bi-annual scholarly publication of
Progressive Initiative for Cameroon
(PICAM). The journal is fast
becoming a major source of
information sharing and synthesizes
on all major issues relevant to a
functional democracy in Cameroon.
CJDHR serves as a resource for
students and researchers in Cameroon
and around the world on issues
pertinent to Cameroon. Through this
forum, Cameroonians are able to have
their work read and used by a wider
audience.
In order to help broaden communities engaging in
international and comparative
perspectives, the journal will
facilitate the submission and
publication of articles in the
original language of publication.
Submissions should meet the
following specifications:
-
Articles should be in English or
French languages.
-
Manuscripts should be the
original work of the
contributor.
-
Manuscripts should be
appropriately referenced using
footnotes.
-
Manuscripts should be 2500-5000
words long, including footnotes.
-
Manuscripts should be typed in
Arial 12 font, and footnote 10
font.
-
Submit an abstract of about 200
to 500 words on the article
submitted.
-
Authors of contributions should
supply their university degrees,
professional qualifications, and
professional or academic status.
Once submissions are received, they will be sent to
selected experts and scholars for
anonymous peer review. Authors will
then receive a synthesis of this
review including suggested revisions
and the need for additional
information. The preferred mode of
citation is our house style found at
http://www.cjdhr.org/style.htm.
In order to ease international readership, the Journal will
be published mainly online.
Thereafter, a print format will be
published and distributed to
Universities libraries and
documentation centers around the
world. Contributors are requested to
submit their abstract of 300-500
words to the Editorial Committee by
October 1, 2008. Upon formal
acceptance, the final draft will be
due by December 30, 2008. Electronic
submissions (email attachment) are
preferred.
Cameroon Journal on Democracy and Human Rights (CJDHR)
Editorial Committee
6229 Springhill Court, # 302
Greenbelt, Maryland 20770
United States of America
Tel: (+1) 615 775 5155 / 301 938 5221
Email:
info@cjdhr.org or
info@picam.org
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