Decolonization and its Impact: A Comparitive Approach to the End of the Colonial Empires

Decolonization and its Impact is a ground–breakingcomparative study of decolonization from before the Second WorldWar to the early 1960s. It focuses on the process and impact ofdecolonizationat the level of the late colonial state and of colonial societies, with reference to a number of key casesacross the European colonial empires.

The book presents an original model of decolonization whichseeks to reconcileimperial and nationalist perspectives, andengages with important theoretical approaches. Major themesinclude: the development of the colonial state; the emergence ofnationalist movements and alternatives to nationalism in colonialsocieties; the interplay between colonial reformism andanti–colonial politics after 1945; wars and emergencies; the impactof decolonization on metropolitan society and politics; and the′endgame′ of decolonization.

While decolonization is often seen as ′inevitable′, the emphasisthroughout the book is on decolonization as a dynamic and oftenviolent political crisis, the resolution of which had manyunintended outcomes, not only for the colonial powers but also forpost–colonial regimes and societies.

Acknowledgements.

Maps.

Introduction: Decolonization in Comparative Perspective.

1 The Colonial State: Patterns of Rule, Habits of Mind.

2 Colonial Politics Before the Flood: Challenging the State,Imagining the Nation.

3 The Second World War and the First Wave ofDecolonization.

4 Imperial Designs and Nationalist Realities in Southeast Asia,1945 1955.

5 Shifting Frameworks for Change: The Late Colonial State inAfrica.

6 The Late Colonial State at War: Insurgency, Emergency andTerror.

7 Towards Self–Government: Patterns of Late Colonial AfricanPolitics, 1951 1957.

8 Wind of Change: Endgame in Colonial Africa, 1958 64.

9 Conclusion: The Impact of Decolonization.

Appendix: Dates of Independence of African States.

Bibliography.

Index

Martin Shipway is Lecturer in French Studies at Birkbeck College, University of London. He is the author of The Road to War: France and Vietnam, 1944–1947 (1996) and has written journal articles and book chapters on French colonial policy making and decolonization in Indochina, sub–Saharan Africa, Algeria and Madagascar, as well as on colonial discourse, psychology and photography, and on post–colonial memory.

" Decolonization and its Impact provides a well–writtensurvey of mid–twentieth century decolonization. Shipway′s expertisein the French experience of this period is self–evident and, withMadagascar and Sudan, he has focused on case studies which areoften overlooked in works of this kind. The book is based on anextensive bibliography, and while not dramatically re–castingexisting historical explanations, it will make a welcome additionto undergraduate reading lists on decolonization." ( SouthAfrican Historical Journal , July 2010) "[The] book represents a notable accomplishment, a feat ofstylish synthesis and compression which will inject still greaterenergy into an already vigorous debate." ( H–Soz–u–Kult, June2010) This book offers both original insights and a meticulousengagement with the existing historiography on the subject. ( TheAmerican Historical Review, February 2010) "It provides a much needed comparative review of Europeandecolonization, grounded in a thorough survey of the most recentliterature on the subject ... .A rich, insightful and deeplyrewarding survey of decolonization ." (The International HistoryReview, December 2009 ) " The scope of the account is global ... with an admirablecombination of detail and attention to broad historic trends.Recommended ." (CHOICE)