Global Journal of Human Social Science, D: History, Archaeology and Anthroplogy, Volume 23 Issue 3

© 2023. Divine Fuhnwi Ngwa. This research/review article is distributed under the terms of the Attribution-NonCommercial- NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). You must give appropriate credit to authors and reference this article if parts of the article are reproduced in any manner. Applicable licensing terms are at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/ 4.0/. The Concept of ‘States within a State’ Amidst Conflict and Peace Building Ventures in Bafut, Cameroon By Divine Fuhnwi Ngwa University of Ngaoundere Abstract- This study looks at the perception and manifestation of the concept of ‘states’ in African communities. A state, in African context, is an organisation of human beings connected by a system of relations. Within the states, different groups of people exist and different individuals have different roles to play. Some exercise special powers or authority, capable of giving command, which is obeyed by the people they rule. In the Bamenda Grassfields of Cameroon (present-day North West Region), these individuals are called fons and chiefs and they rule fondoms. In Westernised societies, they would be called kings. Since colonial period, government administrators refer to them as traditional rulers or natural rulers. Amongst these rulers are some who rule over what is commonly referred to as semi-autonomous polities within the fondoms. They are called sub-chiefs on grounds that colonial administrators came out with this appellation to differentiate the authority and position of a ruler from that of his subalterns. In Bafut this classification spark waves of wrangles and conflict between the fon and his subalterns. Keywords: states, conflict, peace building, bafut, cameroon. GJHSS-D Classification: FOR Code: 210399 Global Journal of HUMAN-SOCIAL SCIENCE: D History, Archaeology & Anthropology Volume 23 Issue 3 Version 1.0 Year 2023 Type: Double Blind Peer Reviewed International Research Journal Publisher: Global Journals Online ISSN: 2249-460x & Print ISSN: 0975-587X Strictly as per the compliance and regulations of: TheConceptofStateswithinaStateAmidstConflictandPeaceBuildingVenturesinBafutCameroon