Cameroon, traditionally overlooked on the international peace agenda, has recently received increased attention due to mounting security challenges. Operating under an authoritarian regime that denies conflicts while promoting a narrative of stability, the course of international peace-from-below initiatives is profoundly influenced by this constrained political environment. Through in-depth case studies of three ongoing humanitarian crises—the Central African refugees’ influx, the Boko Haram/Islamic State West Africa Province insurgency, and the Anglophone conflict—this article contends that localized peace approaches, centring on grassroots reconciliation, may obscure broader structural issues, silence non-state political claims from below, and absolve the state of its responsibilities. Embracing such methodologies not only reinforces authoritarian dynamics but also exhibits a performative dimension, contributing to the establishment of a ‘victor’s peace’ in the absence of military victory.

中文翻译：

---

在非洲威权主义背景下建立和平：在喀麦隆自下而上促进和平


喀麦隆历来在国际和平议程上被忽视，但由于安全挑战日益严峻，最近受到了越来越多的关注。在一个否认冲突同时促进稳定叙事的专制政权下运作，国际自下而上的和平倡议的进程受到这种受限政治环境的深刻影响。通过对三场正在进行的人道主义危机——中非难民涌入、博科圣地/伊斯兰国西非省叛乱和英语冲突——的深入案例研究，本文认为，以基层和解为中心的局部和平方法可能会掩盖更广泛的结构性问题，压制来自下层的非国家政治主张，并免除国家的责任。采用这些方法不仅强化了威权主义的动力，而且还表现出一种表演性的维度，有助于在没有军事胜利的情况下建立“胜利者的和平”。