This volume deals essentially with the rise and evolution of the nationalist movements in the British Northern Cameroons and Southern Cameroons (the Cameroons), the factors that conditioned those movements, and how and why their results came to be as they were.

This study analyses the effects of democratic transition in two African countries - Cameroon and South Africa - on chiefs and the institution of chieftainship. Based on ethnographic fieldwork, the monograph explores the cultural and socio-political conditions that enabled chiefs to reinvent themselves in the new era of democratic politics despite their status as 'old political actors'. It explores the kinds of legitimacies claimed by chiefs in the new era and the responses of their subjects to such claims, particularly with respect to chiefs' involvement in national politics. The monograph makes a case for the importance of comparative research on chiefs in the era of democracy and the predicaments they face therein. It contends that contrary to exhortations about the incompatibility of chiefs and democracy, the reality is that political transition in both South Africa and Cameroon produced contradictions, creating space and a role for chiefs in a fascinating and negotiated interplay of legitimacies and history.

Borno (in northeast Nigeria) is notorious today as the home of an Islamist terrorist group, Boko Haram, whose insurgency is a major security threat, but it was once the heartland of the Kanuri-speaking royal empire of Kanem-Borno, renowned throughout Africa and beyond, which in its later incarnation, the Bornu Empire, lasted from 1380 to 1893. This book offers the reader the first modern history of Borno, drawing upon sources in London, Berlin, Paris, Kaduna and Maiduguri and recently released 'migrated archives'. As its longevity suggests, what is particularly remarkable about Borno is the permanence of its boundaries-its territorial integrity-which dates back centuries, and the political and social identities that such borders framed in the minds of its inhabitants.

The Fourth Congress of the Association of African historians was held in Addis Ababa in May 2007. These 21 papers are a key selection of the papers presented there, with an introduction by the distinguished historian Bahru Zewde. Given the contemporary salience and the historical depth of the issue of identity, the congress was devoted to that global phenomenon within Africa. The papers explore and analyse the issue of identity in its diverse temporal settings, from its pre-colonial roots to its cotemporary manifestations. The papers are divided into six parts: Pre-Colonial Identities; Colonialism and Identity; Conceptions of the Nation-State and Identity; Identity-Based Conflicts; Migration and Acculturation; and Memory, History and Identity. The authors are scholars from Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Bahru Zewde is Emeritus Professor of History at Addis Ababa University, Executive Director of the Forum for Social Studies, and Vice-President of the Association of African Historians. He was formerly Chairperson of the Department of History and Director of the Institute of Ethiopian Studies at Addis Ababa University. Amongst his publication is A History of Modern Ethiopia 1855-1991.

" The United Nations-organised plebiscite on 11 February 1961 was one of the most significant events in the history of the southern and northern parts of the British-administered trust territory in Cameroon. John Percival was sent by the then Colonial Office as part of the team to oversee the process. This book captures the story of the plebiscite in all its dimensions and intricacies and celebrates the author's admiration for things African through a series of reminiscences of what life was like in the 1960s, both for the Africans themselves and for John Percival as a very young man. The complex story is also a series of reflections about the effect of the modern world on Africa. It is a thorough, insightful, rich and enlightening first-hand source on a political landmark that has never been told before in this way. In a vivid style with a great sense of humour, Percival's witty, cogent, eyewitness and active-participant account deconstructs the rumours and misrepresentations about the February 1961 Plebiscite which was a prelude to reunification and to the present day politics of 'belonging' in Cameroon. ""One of the major merits of this book is to provide us with a deeper insight into the role of those actors who have never been the subject of plebiscite studies, namely the Plebiscite Supervisory Officers."" - Piet Konings, African Studies Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands John Percival-Anthropologist, Writer, Television Broadcaster of many innovative BBC series on the environment, history and anthropology. As a young graduate he was recruited and sent to serve in the Southern Cameroons as a Plesbiscite Supervisory Officer in 1961. He died in 2005 after a recent return visit to Cameroon with Nigel Wenban-Smith who writes an epilogue. This posthumous memoir has been edited by his wife, Lalage Neal."

Consisting of 192 Member States, the United Nations was founded in 1945 to maintain international peace and security; to develop friendly relations among nations based on the respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples; to achieve international cooperation in solving problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character; and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion. Just how successful the UN has been in maintaining these goals is covered in The A to Z of the United Nations. Author Jacques Fomerand provides a comprehensive dictionary of nearly 900 cross-referenced entries on the UN's various committees and organizations, its leaders, terms, policies, and major events in which the UN took part. Supplementing the dictionary entries are a chronology, an introduction, a bibliography, and appendixes, which include a reproduction of the UN's Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as a list of the Member States and when they joined.

This book contributes to discussions on the topical issue of "Fifty Years after the independence of the Southern Cameroons", by taking a critical look at the process that lead up to Southern Cameroons' 'reunification' with la République du Cameroun. This was the period spanning from 1951 to 1961, and possibly up to 1972. This immediately conjures two overriding factors; first, the British colonial policy in Southern Cameroons, which dominated political life in the period leading up to: the Plebiscite, the Buea Tripartite Conference, the Bamenda All Party Conference, the Foumban Constitutional Conference and the Yaounde Tripartite Conference during the phase, 1959-1961. This constituted one huge hoax, whilst that from 1961-1972 and, beyond was dominated by the enigmatic figure of President Ahrnadou Ahidjo. At the heart of the first, are the declassified British secret papers which have uncovered the ugly undercurrents that characterised British colonial policy, while on the other hand, is President Ahmadou Ahidjo, who practically personalized the administration of the Federal Republic of Cameroon. His domination of the entire existence of the Federal Republic of Cameroon, (1961-1972) was overshadowed by the fact that he could not brood sharing power with any individual or institution. Simply put, he was allergic to democratic principles-or any form of opposition to his authority. As well, he was a matchless dictator especially in his ambivalent dealings with Southern West Cameroon. Apparently, it was the "destiny" of Southern Cameroons 'that up to 1961, it was harnessed to the tenterhooks of Great Britain and from 1961-1972, transferred to those of the Ahidjo Regime; neither of which wished its people well.

Genocide, Ethnonationalism, and the United Nations examines a series of related crises in human civilization growing out of conflicts between powerful states or empires and indigenous or stateless peoples. This is the first book to attempt to explore the causes of genocide and other mass killing by a detailed exploration of UN archives covering the period spanning from 1945 through 2011. Hannibal Travis argues that large states and empires disproportionately committed or facilitated genocide and other mass killings between 1945 and 2011. His research incorporates data concerning factors linked to the scale of mass killing, and recent findings in human rights, political science, and legal theory. Turning to potential solutions, he argues that the concept of genocide imagines a future system of global governance under which the nation-state itself is made subject to law. The United Nations, however, has deflected the possibility of such a cosmopolitical law. It selectively condemns genocide and has established an institutional structure that denies most peoples subjected to genocide of a realistic possibility of global justice, lacks a robust international criminal tribunal or UN army, and even encourages "security" cooperation among states that have proven to be destructive of peoples in the past. Questions raised include: What have been the causes of mass killing during the period since the United Nations Charter entered into force in 1945? How does mass killing spread across international borders, and what is the role of resource wealth, the arms trade, and external interference in this process? Have the United Nations or the International Criminal Court faced up to the problem of genocide and other forms of mass killing, as is their mandate?

Bringing together key historical and innovative ethnographic materials on the peoples of the South-West Province of Cameroon and the Nigerian borderlands, this volume presents critical and analytical approaches to the production of ethnic, political, religious, and gendered identities in the region. The contributors examine a range of issues relating to identity, including first encounters and conflict as well as global networking, trans-national families, enculturation, gender, resistance, and death. In addition to a number of very striking illustrations of ethnographic and material culture, this volume contains key maps from early German sources and other original cartographical materials.

Cameroon-Nigeria Relations: Trends and Perspectives, edited by Osita Agbu and C. Nna-Emeka Okereke, examines various aspects of Cameroon-Nigeria relations since the countries attained independence in 1960. The Cameroonian and Nigerian contributors contextualize core topical issues that have featured prominently in the course of bilateral relations between both countries, ranging from the theoretical underpinnings required to understand the dynamics of Cameroon-Nigeria relations to contending issues and areas of mutual interests driving diplomatic relations between them. This book reveals trends and dynamics while also accommodating divergent perspectives that demonstrate how theories can be applied to achieve real results. Of significant import is the prognosis that stimulates concerns for the future of Cameroon-Nigeria relations bearing in mind the strategic positions of both countries in West and Central Africa. Cameroon-Nigeria Relations is an indispensable resource for scholars, diplomats, and foreign policy actors that will enrich understanding and inform opinions on charting future courses for healthy bilateral relations between Cameroon and Nigeria.