The Union des Populations du Cameroun and Third World Internationalism: Solidarity, Cooperation, and Abandonment, 1955-1970
Beginning in the early 20 century, and culminating at the Bandung conference in 1955, the Third World began to consolidate itself as an international bloc around a philosophy of self rule and international solidarity. Cameroon’s Union des Populations the Cameroun (UPC) embraced this project from its inception, and maintained a strong internationalist agenda throughout its existence as it struggled for Cameroon’s independence, first from French trusteeship, and then from what was, in its view, an illegitimate neo-colonial government. International solidarity was not merely a rhetorical tool for the UPC, but was rather an essential part of their strategy to achieve their national goals. The party attempted to put the objectives of Third World solidarity in to practice through a number of projects, most notably in the cultivation of personal and political relationships between the party’s elite and emerging Third World Leaders, and educational and military exchange. This work is intended to provide a body of historical evidence of the participation of the UPC in the Third World Internationalist Movement. Contacts: Dr. Willibroad Dze NgwaA professor of History and International Relations at the University of Yaounde I, as well as the director of the secondary school at Mario Academic Complex and the founder and head of a Peace and Conflict NGO, Willibroad conducts research on the UPC, and is also knowledgeable on a number of other historical subjects. He is a great resource for anyone interested in studying history, or any of the contemporary conflicts going on in Cameroon today. Tel: 77 65 93 65; e-mail: dzewing@yahoo.com Jacob TatsitsaJacob is currently writing his dissertation on the relationship between Bamileke migration and the UPC’s armed conflict. He has been researching the UPC for well over ten years, has UPC contacts all over the country, and has worked on several international projects concerning the party’s history. He is another great resource for anyone interested in the UPC. Tel: 75 66 75 90; e-mail: tatsitsa@yahoo.fr
The spatialisation of China’s presence in Cameroon: The case of the mining sector
Abstract The paper details the entry and the evolution of China in Cameroon from independence to the present day. It also outlines how the development of the mining sector has evolved. Using the spatial signature of China's economic interest, it appears that China started through the “peripheralisation” of its footprint (1971–1976) with subtle investments. China increased its presence in the capital city in a “centralisation” step thanks to diplomatic ties and symbolic investments (1977–1999). Its most recent phase (2000 to present) is characterized by the proliferation throughout the country. Similarly in the mining sector, Chinese actors started as peripheral players in Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (ASM) in a first phase characterized by small numbers of non-professional investors originally involved in trade. They then spread rapidly throughout the eastern region, including some as yet unexplored localities, a process accelerated by the arrival of professional miners expelled from Ghana. Concurrently, the industrial mining sector gradually became an area of interest both for private firms and state-owned enterprises. However, while private investors are stepping back, governmental ventures are gaining projects. Overall, China's presence is expanding to all administrative regions and multiple economic sectors, including one of the most recent, the mining sector.
The Internet and the Changing Beijing-Taipei Relations: Toward Unification or Fragmentation?
Information and its technologies facilitate the exercise of what has been called “soft power,” a concept that differentiates information from the conventional dimensions of “hard power,” which is mainly associated with military force and economic influence. Soft power, according to Nye, a former Assistant Secretary of Defense of the United States, means that “A country may obtain the outcomes it wants in world politics because other countries want to follow it, admiring its values, emulating its example, aspiring to its level of prosperity and openness. In this sense it is just as important to set the agenda in world politics and attract others as it is to force them to change through the threat or use of military or economic weapons.”1