학위논문(석사)--Graduate School of International Studies Ajou University :국제개발협력과,2017. 8
Alternative Abstract
The civil society is a very important element in the democratization process of every country. There cannot be any meaningful democracy in a country without an active civil society, most Sub-Saharan African countries are struggling in this process and thus an active civil society in these countries will help facilitate their democratization.
This research paper aims at analyzing the civil society in Cameroon, showing how it changed from an active civil society in the 1990s to a weak civil society after this period. The activities of civil society organization within these two periods are compared to see if the civil society after the 1990s has change in its nature and pattern.
The studies shows that, despite the proliferation of civil society organizations in Cameroon after the 1990s, intra and inter sectorial division within and amongst these association has fractured them, and make them very weak to actively play their desire role in the democratization process in Cameroon. The study identify aspects such as growing sense of ethno-regional belonging, urban poverty and the government mechanism as the root causes of the division within and amongst the civil society organizations.
To this end, I think that civil society in Cameroon need to transcend social boundaries and Identify with the daily and legitimate struggle of ordinary citizens for improvement by the government, because a civil society that transcends social boundaries such as ethnicism and regionalism is an enabling factor for the mobilization of the citizens to create a common struggle which will put pressure on the state to respect the rights of the citizens. The government needs to encourage the activities and equally harmonized the legal instruments regulating civil society organizations, in order for them to effectively contribute in the development of the country.
