Editor's Note

Editor's Note This issue marks an important event in the history of Northeast AfricanStudies (NEAS). We are moving from an informal, occasionally issued scholarly journal to one issued on schedule by a university press. In other words, we have formalized NEAS and ensured its continuity for the foreseeable future. I long have worried about the journal's life after I retired. Our association with MSU Press has institutionalized NEAS, and we will be able to select the best person, no matter where located, to succeed to its editorship when I retire. Our new collaboration will dramatically improve our production quality , which will now follow the high standards of the Association of American University Presses. The editors and the advisory board will be joined by a professional journals editor and a well-qualified copy editor. The new cover and production format demonstrate the high standard of design that henceforth will characterize the journal. Finally, over the years, many ofyou have been unhappy with the ad hoc nature of NEAS's subscription service. At MSU Press, there are a cadre of people who will attend to paper work, subscriptions, and other such matters. In short, we are moving into a new phase of professionalism. We shall retain, however, the peer reviews that characterize scholarly journals, and I shall make the standard disclaimer that I am not responsible for the laggard nature of many of our readers. I do my best to obtain their evaluations, but some of them will not be moved, even by dire threat. In order to facilitate production, it is important for us to receive an electronic version of your essay. For those who do not have access to computer-driven writing, we will of course accept typewritten copy. With each submission, it is important for you to send us your full name and title, home and institutional address, telephone and fax number, and also E-mail address. Once we accept your piece, we shall send you some forms to fill out that legally protect your authorship and our copyright. Finally, please keep the submissions coming. We are especially devoted to works by younger scholars and from those among you who have not been well represented in the scholarship about Northeast Africa. We remain interested in publishing reasonable and lucid political essays that use a scholarly apparatus. We do this for the historical record and because we feel that NEAS has a responsibility to the present, however difficult that reality may be.Harold Marcus, Editor ...