Conflict, Communication, and Cooperation: A Study of Participatory Approaches in Local Community Contexts in Cameroon

Conflict, Communication, and Cooperation: A Study of Participatory Approaches in Local Community Contexts in Cameroon

Carine Laure DJOUMESSI TONLE, Christopher NSOH NDIKUM

PAUGHSS-Yaoundé II

CEDIC-Yaoundé II

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2025.9020301

Received: 11 February 2025; Accepted: 17 February 2025; Published: 20 March 2025

ABSTRACT

This research examines participatory approaches currently or already implemented in local communities in Cameroon to manage conflicts related to natural resources, particularly land and water. Using content analysis of eleven recent reports from renowned organisations, the study explores the implications of these participatory methods in fostering communication and cooperation among parties. The theoretical framework combines Arnstein’s theory of participation and Hall’s intercultural communication theory to assess the extent of community involvement and the influence of cultural diversity in conflict resolution. The findings reveal three key participatory approaches: inter-community dialogues, dispute settlement and early warning mechanisms, and climate-resilience workshops. Inter-community dialogues have proven effective in rebuilding trust among stakeholders, while local committees and public consultations foster collaboration in addressing disputes. However, challenges such as inadequate financial and logistical resources, exclusion of marginalized groups like women and youth, and socio-political complexities hinder the sustainability and inclusivity of these approaches. This research highlights the need for increased institutional and financial support to enhance the effectiveness of participatory initiatives. It also underscores the importance of inclusive mechanisms that address power imbalances and promote active participation from all community members. By leveraging both participatory and intercultural communication frameworks, the study provides a nuanced understanding of how local communities can transform conflicts into opportunities for collaboration. The study concludes with recommendations for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers to strengthen participatory processes and adapt them to diverse African contexts. Future research should focus on evaluating the long-term impacts of these approaches and exploring their replicability in other conflict-prone regions or assess how miscommunication, power imbalances, and external influences impact the shift from tension to resolution in real-world disputes in Cameroon or any other part of the world.

Keywords: Participatory approaches, conflict resolution, communication, local communities, Cameroon

INTRODUCTION

Local conflicts in Cameroon are, for the majority, fuelled by tensions around access to natural resources (Tanko, 2021), socio-cultural divisions (separatist conflict in the North West and South West regions for instance as underscored by Mba and Nouffeussie (2022)) and institutional fragilities (Gatsi-Tazo, 2022). The impact of climate change, especially desertification and diminishing water resources exacerbate these tensions, especially among herders and farmers communities in the Far North, North, Adamawa and North West regions of Cameroon (UNHCR, 2021[1]; International Crisis Group, 2024[2]). These conflicts intensify in a context where traditional dispute settling mechanisms are weakened by complex socio-political dynamics and poor institutional support (UNOCA, 2023). Within this framework, participatory approaches have appeared as promising tools to handle local conflicts. They imply actively involving communities in the drafting, implementation and monitoring of dispute settlement mechanisms thereby contributing to a local and sustainable appropriation of the peace processes (Madingou, 2003; Ndjounguep, 2020). Yet, their implementation in Cameroon remains limited as a result of structural challenges, especially lack of resources, the insufficient inclusion of some vulnerable groups such as women and the youths, as well as persistent political tensions (PBF, 2022; IOM, 2024). These shortcomings raise crucial questions on the efficiency and pertinence of participatory approaches in the specific context of Cameroonian local communities impacted by conflicts.

Whereas several participatory initiatives have been and a still being implemented in Cameroon by national and international actors (PBF, UNESCO, UNHABITAT, UNWOMEN, the World Bank, UNDP, UNOWAS, UNICEF, just to name a few), few studies document their real outcome on communication and cooperation within local communities. Moreover, existent data are sometimes dispersed, centred on specific regions or biased as a result of the exclusion of community perspectives. These gaps make it difficult to identify the factors that influence the success or failure of participatory approaches, thereby minimising their capacity to mitigate and subsequently resolve conflicts in a sustainable and inclusive manner. This paper thus seeks to address these gaps through the following questions:

1. How do participatory approaches influence communication and cooperation in communities impacted by conflicts in Cameroon?
2. Which factors determine the success or failure of participatory approaches in the mitigation and/or resolution of local conflicts in Cameroon?

This study mainly seeks to assess the efficiency of participatory approaches in local conflict management in Cameroon, with a specific focus on the current outcomes/results on community communication and cooperation. To reach this objective, we will:

• Analyse participatory mechanisms used in conflict management initiatives, especially in the domain of natural resource management, land-related and inter Community conflicts.
• Identify key factors favouring or hindering the success of these approaches, with a focus on the inclusion of women, the youths and marginalised populations.

The theoretical framework for this study is made up of two complementary theories: the participation theory and the Intercultural theory as propounded by Arnstein (1969) and Hall (1976) respectively.  Both theories provide conceptual tools to analyse the participatory approaches used in managing intercommunity conflicts in Cameroon. Both theories enabled us understand how power dynamics, social interactions and communicational processes influence the results of participatory initiatives.

The participation theory underscores the involvement of parties in decision-making. Drawn from the works of Arnstein (1969) on the “the ladder of citizen participation”, this theory draws a clear distinction between symbolic participation (or pseudo-participation) and authentic participation. According to him, efficient participatory approaches should enable local communities to have a significant control over decisions affecting their daily lives. This notion is key in the context of natural resource conflicts, where parties sometimes have divergent interests. Pretty (1995) broadened this theory by identifying different levels of participation, from manipulation to empowerment, from “‘bad’ forms of participation – the inclusion of token representatives with no real power, which he characterizes as manipulative participation, and passive participation subsequent to decisions that have already been taken – to ‘better’ forms, such as participation by consultation and for material incentives” (Cornwall, 2008: 270-271). In this paper, these theoretical frameworks helped us analyse how far participatory approaches such as community dialogues and conflict management committees include all key stakeholders and achieve a balance of powers. In addition, they enabled us assess if these initiatives go beyond mere consultations to become real collective decision-making platforms. The diagram below provides a better overview of the “ladder of citizen participation.

Source: 1969, Arnstein, ladder of participation, original text.pdf

The second theory that underpins this work is the intercultural communication theory. It focuses on interaction processes between distinct groups, cultures, values and norms. This theory, propounded by Hall (1976), was further explored in-depth by Ting-Toomey (1999: 1) with her face negotiation conflict theory (it is viewed as “cultural conflict communication theory due to its focus on a comparative analysis of how members of individualistic and collectivistic cultural systems handle diverse conflict situations”.). It underscores the communicational obstacles that can exacerbate tensions, as well as the strategies to overcome them. For Hall, context is pivotal as it determines how an information is received, evaluated and interpreted. In the context of Cameroon, where there is a huge linguistic and cultural diversity, this theory is particularly relevant. It enables us analyse how participatory approaches handle cultural differences to avoid misunderstandings and create harmonious interaction spaces. For instance, during community dialogues, it is vital to adopt culturally and linguistically-sensitive communication strategies to guarantee a fair participation. In addition, the socio-political and geographical contexts have an influence on the choice of the participatory approach. By combining these two theories, this study adopts an integrative perspective to examine participatory approaches. The participation theory provides a framework to assess community inclusion and empowerment, while the intercultural communication theory sheds more light on the relationship dynamics that impacts the success or failure of initiatives. This association is very relevant to community conflicts, where solutions require both an understanding of power dynamics and effective management of cultural differences.

Conceptualisation of keywords

This section briefly conceptualises the keywords of this study.

Participatory approaches: Participatory approaches are methods that consist in actively involving local communities in the planning, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of development projects. These approaches aim at strengthening the autonomy and local ownership of these projects. They are “a useful and appropriate mechanism to achieve development goals in a successful and sustainable manner” (Riswan and Beegom, 2021)

Conflict resolution: conflict resolution has to do with the processes and techniques used to manage and settle disputes among individuals or groups (as it is the case in this paper). It includes resorting to methods such as mediation, negotiation and dialogue among others. In this paper, it is considered as “he informal or formal process that two or more parties use to find a peaceful solution to their dispute” as defined by Shonk (2024).[3]

Communication: Touitou (2020) defines communication as “the transfer of information from one place to another place in a desired direction with an expectation to bring about a desired effect. Communication is the transfer of an idea or knowledge in ways that enable the recipients to understand, react to and to act upon the information received.” This implies that beyond the two-way directionality, communication entails been conscious of the stakes and consequences of every interaction or decision taken during the communication process.

Local communities: Local communities are groups of people sharing the same geographical space, the same or common culture and interests. This is closed to ICCA Consortium’s definition, as it considers a local community as “a self-identified human group that acts collectively in ways that contribute to defining a territory and culture through time”.[4] These local communities are key actors in the implementation of development projects and local resource management. In Cameroon, they are generally organised around traditional bodies such as chiefdoms or village councils, and have an influence on collective decision making.

METHODS

This section details the methods adopted to analyse the role of participatory approaches in local conflict management in Cameroon. It comprises the following elements: corpus selection, presentation of variables, data extraction process, codification and analysis. These rigorous steps are inspired by the works of Bardin (2013) and Krippendorff (2018).

Corpus selection

Several criteria were considered for a document to be included in the final list that made up the corpus presented in a table below: thematic relevance, date of publication, geographical scope, accessibility and reliability. In terms of thematic relevance, each included document discusses local conflicts, participatory approaches and their influence on community cooperation and communication. Concerning the second criteria, only reports published between 2019 and 2024 (the last five years) were considered, to guarantee the extraction of up-to-date data which reflect the contemporary context. In terms of geographical scope, the reports considered for scrutiny cover at least two regions of Cameroon, including the Far North, the North, the North-West and or the South West. This choice is justified by the need to reflect regional variations in the deployment of participatory approaches. Finally, in terms of accessibility and reliability, the documents included are available to the public or open access on academic databases or institutions’ websites. In addition, they are published by organisations known for their proven expertise in conflict management.

Choice of variables

Three types of variables were considered in this paper: dependent variables, independent variables and contextual variables. The independent variables include the type of participatory approach and the stakeholders involved. The type of participatory approach was further subdivided into the identification of the mechanisms put in place such as conflict management Committees, participatory workshops or dialogues. As for the stakeholders, we analysed the inclusion of key stakeholders such as NGOs, local authorities, the women and the youths in these initiatives.

The dependent variables are the implications on communication and the implications on cooperation. For the first one, we evaluated the changes in the interactions between key stakeholders, including the reduction of misunderstandings and pre-conceived ideas. As for the outcome on cooperation, the collective initiatives generated were measured, such as shared management of natural resources or the signing of community pacts.

The contextual variables include the geographical context (rural/urban, proximity of conflict areas), the socio-political context (presence of armed groups, local public policies or the implication of the international community).

Data extraction process

An initial reading of the reports enabled us identify pertinent sections dealing with participatory approaches and their implications on communication and/or cooperation. Textual data were segmented in units of meaning (paragraphs, sentences) to ease their analysis. A data extraction table containing the following entries was created: title of the document and author, year of publication, participatory approached mentioned or clearly deducted from the document, results identified (communication and cooperation) and contexts.

Data analysis

Descriptive statistics were used to present the data collected. The frequency of the use of participatory approaches and their implications were calculated. A thematic analysis enabled us identified major tendencies and recurrent challenges. These results are presented in tables and graphics in the dedicated section of this paper. In-depths case studies were retrieved from the reports as evidence of the concrete failure or success initiatives. In terms of ethical considerations, the following principles are respected; transparency, respect of copyright and confidentiality.

RESULTS

This section presents in detail the results of the analysis of the data from the selected reports. The results are organised into three major sub-sections: (1) the participatory approaches identified, (2) their implications for communication and community cooperation, and (3) the challenges and limitations of these approaches. Each sub-section is accompanied by an in-depth discussion, enriched by academic references and concrete examples from the reports. The table below presents the data extracted:

Table 1 : data extracted from Reports

Source: data collected

Participatory approaches identified

Results

The various participatory approaches identified are the following, presented in the graph below: intercommunity dialogues, local conflict/resource management Committees, public consultations, youth and women leadership programs, peace consolidation committees, among others.

Figure 1 : types of participatory approaches

Source: data collected

Three main participatory approaches are commonly used: Intercommunity dialogues, dispute settlement and early warning mechanisms and public consultations. These approaches consist in structured meetings involving different community actors: traditional rulers, herders, farmers, women and youths’ representatives. They are followed by inclusive climate-resilience workshops, local committees and other approaches. For instance, the Report published by the PBF (2021: 15) documents the organisation of five (05) “community mediation workshops…at Mokolo, Koza, Kousseri, Makary and Mora on themes related to conflict resolution, dialogue in social cohesion, mediation and communication techniques”.

Local conflict management Committees are made up of representatives elected by the communities to serve as mediators in case of disputes. For instance, the 2021 report of the PBF highlights the setting up or revitalisation of “15 village conflict prevention and management committees through awareness campaigns and training in community dialogue and conflict resolution in the target localities (Mborguene, Gado, Borgop, Yamba, Diel, Babororo, Adoumri, Djemadjou, Gbiti, Timangolo, Zoungabona, Mbelibina, Ouro Idje, Zamboi, Bogdibo); 277 men and 52 women, including 130 young men and six young women”. The concrete result is the fact that “About 10% of conflicts were resolved with the support of village conflict management committees between August 2020 and July 2022” (PBF Intermediary Report, p. 18). This evidences the key role played by local committees in mitigating and avoiding escalation or the emergence of new conflicts. It also underscores the crucial role in an inclusive approach when dealing with conflict mitigation and/or resolution.

DISCUSSION

These results confirm the diversity and complementarity of participatory approaches used to prevent and/or mitigate conflicts. Community dialogues and public consultations for instance are efficient to build the trust of parties in a conflict as underscored by Dakouo (2016: 13). Yet, their success depends on the mechanisms chosen, the methodology adopted and the will of parties to cooperate among other features (UNEP, 2015: 35). Local committees are also quite efficient in the short term, but the lack of resources and legitimacy of some members in some communities might undermine this efficiency. dispute settlement and early warning mechanisms as well as climate-resilience workshops both serve as important platforms to discuss the impact of climate change on the existing conflict, thus serving as a key approach to fostering a better understanding of the phenomenon. The inclusive nature of these approaches makes it possible to reach the key targets.

Outcome on communication and cooperation within communities

Results

The participatory approaches yield significant outcomes on two key elements: improving intercommunity and intergenerational communication on the one hand and strengthening intercommunity cooperation on the other hand.

improved intercommunity and intergenerational communication

Data collected from the policy document reveal that participatory approaches have contributed so far in reducing misunderstandings and improve interactions between key stakeholders. The various outcomes are summarised in the table below:

Table 2 : Influence of participatory approaches on communication

Source: data collected

Strengthened inter-community cooperation

Another important outcome of participatory approaches is on cooperation in the affected areas. Indeed, the data reveals a strengthened cooperation among key stakeholders in the areas where these approaches have been displayed as evidenced in the table below:

Table 3 : Influence of participatory approaches on cooperation

Source: data collected

DISCUSSION

These results underscore the efficacy of participatory approaches in the middle term (since we are concerned about a five-year period) to transform conflictual dynamics into collaboration opportunities. As demonstrated by Barume (2016), the active involvement of communities in decision-making strengthens their sense of belonging et minimises the risks of future tensions. Yet, it is important to highlight that these outcomes can be bettered if projects are supported by sufficient financial resources and adapted trainings. Moreover, there are noticeable efforts to include marginalised groups such as women and the youths (with 07 out of the 11 reports- 63.63%- consulted explicitly identify women and the youths are priority targets). This should be intensified to guarantee a real inclusive cooperation in the long term.

It is also worth mentioning that the socio-political contexts also influence the efficacy of communication and cooperation, as it determines their success or failure. Indeed, in the documents analysed, the geographical and the socio-political contexts vary, and so do the communication and cooperation mechanisms. The table below presents a summary of these contexts and their implication in the affected areas.

Table 4 : implications of geographical and socio-political contexts on communication and cooperation

Source: data collected

CONCLUSION

This paper explored the participatory approaches implemented in local communities in Cameroon to manage conflicts, especially in contexts where tensions related to natural resources such as land and water are exacerbated by socioeconomic and political factors. By mobilising an in-depth corpus analysis of recent reports released by local and international organisations, this research highlights the types of participatory approaches implemented and their implication on communication and cooperation in the affected areas. The results reveal that intercommunity dialogues, dispute settlement and early warning mechanisms as well climate resilience workshops are the most commonly used participatory approaches. In the middle term, they have contributed in improving intercommunity relations, strengthens mutual trust and minimise the risks of conflicts degenerating. These approaches, when they are well conceived and inclusive, create spaces where the different groups can discuss, negotiate and find common solutions. Intercommunity dialogues for instance have proven particularly effective in rebuilding trust between farmers and herders in regions historically marked by tensions. However, this study also highlights several challenges. The lack of financial and technical resources often hinders the sustainability of these initiatives. Furthermore, the exclusion of women and youth, due to sociocultural norms or limited awareness reduces the impact of these approaches (PBF Cameroon, 2022: 11; UN Women, 2022: 10, UNESCO, UN Women and UNICEF, 2022: 27). Lastly, the complex socio-political context, including the politicization of conflicts and the presence of armed groups, poses a significant obstacle to the implementation of participatory strategies (UN Women, 2022: 4). These findings underscore the importance of increased institutional and financial support to ensure the effectiveness of participatory approaches. It is also imperative to promote inclusive mechanisms that systematically integrate marginalized groups, including in terms of language, to avoid exacerbating conflicts (Crawford et al., 2022: 18, 70). Additionally, concerted efforts are needed to neutralize political influences and secure spaces for dialogue. In conclusion, participatory approaches offer a promising pathway for transforming conflicts into opportunities for collaboration, but their success depends on continuous efforts to overcome structural and contextual challenges. Future research can focus on adapting these approaches to other contexts in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as a long-term evaluation of their impact in Cameroon or conduct in-depth interviews to analyse how cultural narratives and media shape conflict perceptions and cooperation dynamics. It might also be interesting to assess how miscommunication, power imbalances, and external influences impact the shift from tension to resolution in real-world disputes in Cameroon or any other part of the world.

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FOOTNOTES

[1] UNHCR (2021). Dwindling Rains in Northern Cameroon Spark Conflict and Displacement. Available on Dwindling rains in northern Cameroon spark conflict and displacement | UNHCR US

[2] International Crisis Group (2024). Curbing Feuds over Water in Cameroon’s Far North. Crisis Group Africa Briefing N°197, 25 April 2024 available on Curbing Feuds over Water in Cameroon’s Far North

[3] Shonk, K. (2024). What is Conflict Resolution, and How Does It Work? How to manage conflict at work through conflict resolution. Available on What is Conflict Resolution, and How Does It Work? – PON – Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School

[4] ICCA (2025). Local communities. Available on Local communities – ICCA Consortium Meanings and Resources