Language as a Form of Weaponisation in Crisis: The Case of The Current Anglophone Cameroon Crisis

This article examines how political discourse functions as a tool of power, marginalization, and radicalization within the context of the current Anglophone crisis in Cameroon. Focusing on a 2016 speech by the Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji, delivered on CRTV during a national debate on unity, the study investigates how language can escalate social tension. Focusing on Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and Critical Stylistics as theoretical frameworks, the research was guided by the qualitative textual analysis model to uncover discursive strategies, such as declaratives, historical allusions, metaphor, mitigation, and exclusion, that the speaker employs to assert dominance and dismiss dissent. The speech was selected using purposive sampling because of its influential role and timing during the early phase of the crisis. Findings show that the denial of the Anglophone problem and symbolic delegitimization of marginalized voices provoked strong backlash, intensifying rebellion and prolonging the conflict. The article argues that in fragile political settings, language is not neutral but instrumental in shaping ideological boundaries and triggering resistance. It concludes that discourse sensitivity is essential in conflict communication to avoid deepening societal divisions.

Keywords: Discourse, radicalization, political-discourse, Anglophone crisis, Critical Discourse Analysis