ABSTRACT
Fake papers (identity documents, diplomas, criminal court records, etc.) circulate widely in Cameroon. This chapter attempts to make sense of this widespread and contentious social practice from the perspectives of users, producers, and the people supposed to control it. The main argument is that access to fake documents reproduces individual and territorial inequalities in accessing the state. The study of current reforms in identification policy makes it clear that a complex assemblage of individuals and institutions have an interest in the production of authentic, fake, or half fake documents, which are subject to little control. Individuals engaged in combatting or producing fake papers acknowledge the unequal uses of fake papers by ordinary citizens and elites and express harsh condemnation of a state which has surrendered its ability to certify authenticity.
