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vii Acknowledgments We are deeply indebted to a number of persons whose contribution to the production of this book has been enormous. Special thanks go to Dr. Flavien Tiokou Ndonko for coordinating the entire desktop publishing activities. Equal tribute goes to Antoine Socpa and to Celine Ottou Ndanga for their secretariat and technical support during the preparatory phase. We also want to thank the authors of the different articles for sharing their ideas with fellow countrymen and other scholars through this modest publication. Without the financial support from the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Yaounde, neither the conference nor this publication would have been possible. This is certainly an excellent example of North-South co-operation. We are indeed, very grateful and we pay special tribute to Ambassador Max Damme whose support was an eloquent testimony of his desire to promote Cameroon studies through this collaborative effort between Dutch and Cameroon researchers. Mrs Anna W.E. Donners, second Secretary of the Royal Dutch Embassy also deserves our special thanks. Without her sustainable efforts, this work would never have come to fruition. Finally, we are deeply indebted to Professor Peter Geschiere and Dr. Piet Konings whose untiring efforts to enhance social science research in Cameroon have been exemplary. They have also introduced many Dutch researchers to Cameroon studies thus laying the .groundwork for a long and fruitful future. viii ...

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