Decentralized Cooperation: Analysis of the Opportunities and Challenges of a New Form of External Support for Cameroon's Local development (1996-2019)
Abstract
Decentralized cooperation refers to the relations of exchange, twinning, interaction and mutual support between the decentralized local authorities of one country and those of other countries. Since the 1990s, decentralized cooperation for local development represents a real stake in Cameroon. It operates within the context of the Cameroonian decentralization process as promulgated in the 1996 Constitution. It allows Cameroonian councils to benefit from considerable support from foreign councils. With decentralized cooperation, a local diplomacy has developed, which helps to reshape international relations and the place of non-state actors in the conduct of international affairs. The objective of this article is to analyze the opportunities and Challenges of decentralized cooperation as a new form of external support for Cameroon's Local development. It addresses the following central question: How has decentralized cooperation contributed to a new development opportunity for Cameroonian councils and what are the challenges? Data is collected principally from documents, observations, council archives and legal texts on decentralization and decentralized cooperation in Cameroon. The analytical framework is informed by the local development and transnational theories. One key finding of this paper is that while decentralized cooperation between Cameroon and foreign councils has made some modest contribution to local development in Cameroon (in terms of strengthening the financial, material and technical capacity of some local councils), there also exists a major weakness on the part of Cameroonian councils- the weak contribution of Cameroonian councils vis-à- vis their foreign partners. Hence, the article arrives at the conclusion that decentralized cooperation constitutes not only a new development opportunity but also a critical structural development challenge for Cameroonian councils in their local development initiatives. The article recomme
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