Political communication strategies of sub-Saharan Africa nationalist movements in the era of (de)colonization: The case of the UPC in Cameroon (1948–56)

Abstract

This article is about the political communication strategies of the Union des Populations du Cameroun (UPC), a political party in Cameroon which fought for the independence of the country. We particularly focus on the communication channels used by the UPC to transmit political messages, in a context marked by severe administrative repression and restrictions of freedom of press and expression. Theoretically, our article relies on the concept of media system. Methodologically, we use text analysis to map the choices of the UPC. The period of analysis ranges from 1948 when the UPC was created to 1956 when the party was banned by the colonial authorities. The results show that the political communication strategy of the UPC mainly gave preference to letter writing to mobilize the masses. In addition, the UPC owned several newspapers to cover its activities and criticize the French colonial administration in Cameroon.