Biya's Regime: Chronicles of the Shipwreck of the Cameroonian Nation

Buffett Book Talk with Haman Mana

Haman Mana is a Cameroonian journalist and author. He has spent the last two years as a Buffett Visiting Scholar at Northwestern continuing to run Le Jour, one of Cameroon’s largest daily newspapers, and working on his new book Biya's Regime about Cameroon’s slide toward authoritarian rule, from which he was forced to flee following the paper’s investigation of corruption and influence peddling by a powerful media mogul.

Northwestern's Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications hosted a conversation with Haman Mana and Richard Joseph, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, on the book, which provides an account of Cameroon's descent into authoritarianism under one of the world's longest-serving heads of state. Drawing on decades of experience as a journalist and editor in Cameroon, Mana examined the country’s deepening political crisis, marked by systemic corruption, tribalism, violence and repression. This conversation explored the broader implications for press freedom, civil society and democracy in Cameroon and across the world.

Richard Joseph, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Northwestern University, has devoted his scholarly career to studying politics and governance in Africa with a special focus on democratic transitions, state building and state collapse, and conflict resolution. He directed the African Governance Program at the Carter Center (1988–1994) and coordinated elections missions in Zambia (1991), Ghana (1992) and peace initiatives in Liberia (1991–1994).