ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the intelligibility of the federal failure in Cameroon and relates it to the identity tensions in the federation. The establishment of the Federal Republic of Cameroon was aided by political formations that promoted the idea of reunification. Hence, from its inception the idea of federation was tied to party manifestos. The establishment of the Federal Republic of Cameroon had been preceded by political events that undermined the practices of liberal democracy. As the idea of reunification was promoted by various political elites in Cameroon, the trajectories of the federal experiment remained tied to their interests. Cameroon's federal failure, therefore, demonstrates the complexity of understanding the phenomenon of defunct federalism in a manner which is neither abstract nor casuistic, neither programmatic nor purely speculative. Yet manages to account for the political opportunism of party elites, the autocratic Gaullist tendencies of political leaders, and the impact of various international actors; mainly the UN, the United Kingdom, and France.
