Democratic Opportunism, Political Capabilities, Desired Political Behaviour and the Emergence of Activists in Transition Societies of Africa: Cameroon's John Fru Ndi

Abstract

Why and how do pro-democracy activists emerge in transition societies? The purpose of this paper is to examine the various circumstances that favour the emergence of pro-democracy activism. It argues that pro-democracy activists are likely to emerge under conditions that combine democratic opportunities, individual political capabilities and desired political behaviour. The study uses an event analysis approach and the observation of the life cycle of John Fru Ndi, the leader of the opposition Social Democratic Front (SDF) in Cameroon. The result obtained shows that pro-democracy activists emerge not only because of the external circumstances that favour democratic activism at a point in time, but also because of their ability to make shrewd use of this opportunity by engaging their political capability and adopting the desired political behaviour. This holistic approach indeed provides a comprehensive understanding of the emergence of the opposition in strong and capricious States of Africa in the early 90s.