When to Act Is to Say: Appointment as Conflictogenic Discourse in the Cameroonian Administration

Abstract

Promotion to high office in the Cameroonian administration, appear to be one of the main topic of political communication in Cameroun. The communitarian claims of appointment put both individuals and communities in competitive situations and are often the source of social conflicts. The problem is to understand the focus of political communication on appointment in the Administration in Cameroon and the possible link that it could have with conflictuality in the country. From a theoretical point of view, each act of appointment can be understood as a message from the President of the Republic whose power of appointment is unlimited. The president’s acts of appointment; on the one hand; and the demands from communities, on the other, appear to be a kind of communication. Data analysis will be guided by the theory of "the actor and the system". From a methodological point of view, we used documentary observation in the national and international press. We also had an in-depth interview with a former minister who, however, requested anonymity. Finally, our 26-year service as an employee gives us the advantage of experience gained through participatory observation. It appeared that appointment, through the numerous and consistent advantages that it confers on the promoted, thus appears to the citizens, as the main means of access to the fortune from which the covetousness of both the individuals and their communities of origin arises. Unfortunately, the state is unable to meet all expectations. However, individual, as well as community, strategies of access to appointments expose the nation to more division than cohesion.