The pacification of a primordial, violent natural state of humankind by a social contract based on reciprocal exchange is a widespread preconception, from Thomas Hobbes and Enlightenment social... Show moreThe pacification of a primordial, violent natural state of humankind by a social contract based on reciprocal exchange is a widespread preconception, from Thomas Hobbes and Enlightenment social thought to Marcel Mauss and Claude Lévi-Strauss. In this contribution, the structure, historical backgrounds, and current roles of this assumption in several lines of research are analysed. Subsequently, it is argued that socioecological theories of conflict and cooperation can elegantly supplement Durkheimian approaches, and help to avoid a too dualistic, homo duplex view of culture. Show less
The importance of student politics in Africa during economic and political liberalization cannot be underestimated. However, this study of anglophone students in Cameroon cautions against treating... Show moreThe importance of student politics in Africa during economic and political liberalization cannot be underestimated. However, this study of anglophone students in Cameroon cautions against treating students as a homogeneous group. It shows that although anglophone students today feel even more marginalized than their francophone counterparts, they have actually displayed a rather ambivalent attitude towards the francophone-dominated State. The author first describes the development of anglophone nationalism and discusses the role of anglophone students in their struggle against francophone dominance. He argues that anglophone students have played a vanguard role in anglophone protest actions in the wake of Paul Biya's accession to power in 1982. He then describes two new anglophone youth organizations which emerged during political liberalization and which differ in their attitude towards the francophone-dominated State: the Southern Cameroons Youth League (SCYL), which supports the main aim of the anglophone struggle - the creation of an independent anglophone State, and President Biya's Youths (PRESBY), which is opposed to the anglophone struggle and has expressed its loyalty to President Biya in exchange for a share in the diminishing pool of State resources. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
Recent studies of African boundaries have tended to focus either on the growing number of border disputes between States or on frontier regions that are said to offer local inhabitants a wide... Show moreRecent studies of African boundaries have tended to focus either on the growing number of border disputes between States or on frontier regions that are said to offer local inhabitants a wide range of economic opportunities. This article combines both approaches and demonstrates the ambiguous nature of the Anglophone Cameroon-Nigeria border. On the one hand, the border has been subject to regular skirmishes between Cameroon and Nigeria, culminating in a protracted war over the sovereignty of the Bakassi peninsula - an area rich in oil reserves. On the other hand, it has for historical and economic reasons never constituted a real barrier to cross-border movements of labour and goods. The large Nigerian migrant community in Anglophone Cameroon, in particular, has been able to benefit from formal and informal cross-border trade for a long time. Unsurprisingly, its dominant position in the host community's commercial sector has been a continuous source of conflict. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract] Show less
