What is Cameroon's current security situation and how is it likely to change in the future? Cameroon faces internal insurgencies, conflicts in neighboring states, and an impending power transition. In this commentary we provide a holistic account of the security issues facing Cameroon, drawing particular attention to five recent trends: the decline of rural governance; a shift in the pattern of ethnic competition; a reduced government capacity; the negative consequences of coup-proofing and an emerging multipolar international system undermining Cameroon's diplomatic strategy. Contrary to accounts that highlight the risks of general civil war, we argue that Cameroon's government retains sufficient 'national power' to prevent the center's collapse. However, we see a heightened risk of persistent insurgencies outside the center in the future due to multiple grievances and weak counterinsurgency capability. The contradictions of past security policy can no longer be overcome.

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The last decade has demonstrated that threats to security vary greatly in their causes and manifestations and that they invite interest and demand responses from the social sciences, civil society, and a very broad policy community. In the past, the avoidance of war was the primary objective, but with the end of the Cold War the retention of military defence as the centrepiece of international security agenda became untenable. There has been, therefore, a significant shift in emphasis away from traditional approaches to security to a new agenda that talks of the softer side of security, in terms of human security, economic security, and environmental security. The topical New Security Challenges series reflects this pressing political and research agenda.

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