LOCK IN ISOMORPHIC CHANGE? CAMEROON PATH DEPENDENCY TO ITS HISTORICAL THRESHOLDS.

Yıl 2023, Cilt: 10 Sayı: 22, 433 - 459, 30.08.2023

Jean Emile Nobola

https://doi.org/10.58884/akademik-hassasiyetler.1323871

Öz

Abstract
This paper makes the case for the causal relation between national historical thresholds, isomorphic change, path dependency and the policy transfer of governance systems in a developing country emerging from a long ‘western domination.’ The study used the isomorphic change to trace back the trajectory of administrative reform in a developing country like Cameroon. The theory of path dependency has provided the needed tools to decipher the hidden dynamics of administrative models loosely adopted through the lenses of the multi-level account of policy transfer. Finally, the systematic analysis of the German protectorate from 1884 to 1916, the France and British mandate and trusteeship from 1916 to 1945 and from 1945 to 1956/57 respectively, laid out the policy transfer’s dynamics and the lock-in frame binding the Cameroonian administrative reform into an atypical furrow of largely ritualistic/ceremonial changes. The said changes are hiding long-lasting conformity to mores of neo-patrimonialism, strategic conformity to international standards and the increasing returns’ outcomes ascribing the country into a path dependent ‘trap’ since. By looking for causal assessment of historical sequences on today’s administrative outcomes in Cameroon, associated with a systematic and contextualised comparison of similar and contrasting cases, this research is conducted from the standpoint of comparative historical analysis. The core finding is that after several decades, Cameroon has adopted trajectories that remain fundamentally disconnected from domestic cultural and anthropological realities, producing hybrid, decoupled systems of governance. The study concludes that the historical cornerstones of Cameroon have promoted and served as fertile ground for the isomorphic reproduction and policy transfer of administrative models from former resident foreign countries (Germany, Great Britain and France).

Anahtar Kelimeler

İsomorphic change, path dependency, policy transfer, Cameroon, New Public Management.

İZOMORFİK DEĞİŞİME HAPSOLMAK MI? KAMERUN'UN TARİHSEL EŞİKLERİNE OLAN PATİKA BAĞIMLILIĞI

Öz

Bu çalışma, uzun bir ‘batı egemenliğinden’ çıkan gelişmekte olan bir ülkedeki ulusal tarihsel eşikler, izomorfik değişim, patika bağımlılığı ve yönetişim sistemlerinde siyasa transferi arasındaki nedensel ilişkiyi ortaya koymaktadır. Kamerun gibi gelişmekte olan bir ülkede idari reformun yörüngesini geriye doğru izlemek için izomorfik değişimi kullanmaktadır. Patika bağımlılığı kuramı, siyasa transferinin çok düzeyli açıklamasının mercekleri aracılığıyla gevşek bir şekilde benimsenen idari modellerin gizli dinamiklerini deşifre etmek için gerekli araçları sağlamaktadır. 1884'ten 1916'ya kadar Alman himayesi, 1916'dan 1945'e ve 1945'ten 1956/57'ye kadar sırasıyla Fransız ve İngiliz mandası ve vesayetinin ardışık analizi ile siyasa ödünç alma dinamiklerini ve Kamerun idari reformunun büyük ölçüde ritüelistik / törensel değişikliklerin sıradan olmayan bir çizgi içine bağlayan hapsolmanın çerçevesini ortaya koymaktadır. Söz konusu değişiklikler, neo-patrimonyalizm adetlerine uzun süreli uyumu, uluslararası standartlara stratejik uyumu ve ülkeyi o zamandan beri patika bağımlı bir 'tuzağa' sürükleyen artan sonuçlarını gizlemektedir. Bu çalışma, karşılaştırmalı tarihsel analiz açısından, benzer ve zıt vakaların sistematik ve bağlamsal olarak karşılaştırılmasıyla ilişkili olarak Kamerun'da bugünün idari sonuçlarındaki tarihsel ardışıklıkların nedensel değerlendirmesine odaklanmaktadır. Onlarca yıl sonra Kamerun’un yerel kültürel ve antropolojik gerçeklerden temelde kopuk kalan yörüngeleri benimsediği ve melez, ayrık yönetişim sistemleri ürettiği temel bulgusuna ulaşılmıştır. Çalışma, Kamerun'un tarihsel köşe taşlarının, eski yerleşik yabancı ülkelerden (Almanya, İngiltere ve Fransa) idari modellerin izomorfik yeniden üretimi ve siyasa transferi için verimli bir zemin oluşturduğu ve teşvik ettiği sonucuna varmaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

İzomorfik değişim, patika bağımlılığı, siyası transferi, Kamerun, Yeni Kamu Yönetimi

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