The Paradox of Sovereignty and Rights: A Structural and Behavioral Analysis of Human Rights Violations in the Cameroons Anglophone Crisis

Abstract

This study critically evaluates the systemic human rights violations perpetrated during the ongoing Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon (2016–Present). Synthesizing Karl Marx’s Conflict Theory, Dollard et al.’s Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis, and the classic Natural Law traditions of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, the paper investigates the structural friction between centralist state-building and minority rights preservation. Employing a mixed-methods empirical architecture (N=50), structured around descriptive statistics and a Chi-Square (χ²) test of independence, the research examines the catalytic drivers, cross-generational manifestations, and macro-socioeconomic implications of the conflict within the North West and South West regions. Quantitative indices reveal that 86% of the regional demographic has experienced direct human rights violations, split symmetrically between state security configurations and non-state armed groups (40% respectively). The statistical analysis evaluates the relationship between demographic categories and perceptions of conflict impact (χ² = 0.9616 with df = 2, p > 0.05), indicating a universal, gender-transcendent experience of trauma, while robust regression modeling and localized variance analysis (Standard Error = 7.07%) prove a definitive association between armed conflict dynamics and the systemic disintegration of first, second, and third-generation human rights, corroborated by extensive secondary humanitarian datasets. Critically, the study outlines the macro consequences, including severe educational drops, internally displaced populations exceeding 550,000 individuals, and profound psychological traumas. It concludes with an actionable suite of supra-national and constitutional policy adjustments tailored to foster mediation, legal transparency, and sustainable institutional reconstruction.