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vii This volume is the result of extensive research I have done over many years on the most important agro-industrial enterprises in Anglophone Cameroon’s plantation economy. From the very start, I was able to benefit from previous studies on these enterprises, notably the outstanding work of Edwin and Shirley Ardener on the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC) and Georges Courade on Pamol. During my fieldwork, I became indebted to a great number of people and, unfortunately, there is only room to mention a few of them here. I am particularly grateful to old colleagues at the former Institute of Human Sciences in Yaoundé, in particular Nantang Jua, Joseph Ngu, Cyprian Fisiy and the late N’Sangou Arouna who all helped me to feel at home in Cameroon and who were always prepared to give me advice. I am also grateful for the hospitality and assistance I received from various institutions in Anglophone Cameroon, including the Head Offices of the CDC and Pamol, the Buea National Archives, the provincial and divisional offices of the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance, and the divisional unions of agricultural workers. My greatest debt in Cameroon, however, is to the members and leaders of the regional civil-society groups and associations who were always willing to answer my numerous questions. I would also like to express my gratitude to the African Studies Centre in Leiden that funded the entire project. Two ASC members have been particularly helpful. I wish to thank Ann Reeves for copyediting the text and Dick Foeken for his advice and assistance in the production process. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the invaluable role played by Peter Geschiere and Francis Nyamnjoh in my research projects in Cameroon over the years. They have been a constant source of friendship and intellectual stimulation and I thank them for this. Acknowledgements ...

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