The Political Complexity of Pro‐poor Policy Processes in the Mandara Mountains, Cameroon

Abstract

We give more conceptual flesh and bones to the interconnections between social structures and individual agency by focusing on the way in which the people(s) inhabiting the Mandara Mountains in Far North Province of Cameroon have been affected by pro‐poor policy processes. We analyse the role of individual, collective and relational capabilities in such processes. The case‐study points to: (i) the importance of tracing capability deprivations back to weak political agency, (ii) the sometimes ambiguous impact of participatory procedures, and (iii) the necessity to balance the ‘what’ and the ‘how’ questions in designing anti‐poverty interventions.