From geopolitics to anti-geopolitics: The story of Cameroonian bilingualism

Abstract

The aim of the article is to examine how Cameroonian bilingualism was portrayed in academic literature and how it fit into the ongo¬ing geopolitical dynamics. The article considers two time periods for the geopolitical narrativization of African states (1960–1990 and 1990–2020). These two periods differ not only in geopolitical narrativization, but also in the shift in academic paradigms. This article employs geopolitical and anti-geopolitical approaches to show how the state’s narrative of bilingualism has been filling into the globally accepted narratives. Cameroon was chosen as the extreme case, where the two former colonial languages (English and French) share the same status, defining Cameroon as a bilingual country. The conclusion of the article is that Cameroon’s bilingual status has the ability to fit into the current geopolitical narratives. Beside the dominant narrative, there was present at least one important narrative.