Abstract

Over the last five decades, the status of Anglophones in Cameroon as marginalized has surfaced in political and religious spaces, illustrating the politics of oppression that has persisted since the amalgamation of East and West Cameroon into the United Republic of Cameroon on May 20, 1972. Anglophone marginalization operates at various levels in the unitary state, with varying impacts. The purpose of this study is to depict how decades of marginalization have eventually resulted in incessant civilian unrest in a country that was once deemed "peaceful." This study adopts the narrative model and maintains that the effective method of sustaining the status quo has been to control the conduct of Anglophone Cameroonians by suppressing Anglophone identity in a way that ensures the survival of the politics of oppression existing within the unitary state.

Key words: Democratization, cultural and linguistic identity, self-determination, regional conflict, decentralization.