Beyond empire and nation : the decolonization of African and Asian societies, 1930s-1960s

Decolonization has become one of the major themes in twentieth-century historiography. Within the span of three decades, most of the countries that had been colonized by European powers became independent. Discussions tend to concentrate on the causes of decolonization, particularly on the motives and policies of the European powers. As a result, writings on the history of decolonization have for a long time been primarily about unmak- ing and about departure. Recently, however, the perspective has shifted, with more weight being attached to global dynamics on the one hand, and greater agency being ascribed to local actors on the other. This volume aims to enhance the debate by moving the analysis away from the political interpretations of decolonization that have been used by both the departing powers and the new national leaders, interpretations that have subsequently dominated our retrospective view of the period. In the next pages, twelve authors give their views on the meaning of decoloniza- tion in African and Asian societies. They all view decolonization over a long span of time in order to assess the convergences and divergences between major social changes and political decolonization. Most articles concentrate on social and institutional changes in the middle decades of the twentieth century, ranging in topic from land titles, urban symbolism, racial and class segregation, the banking system, plural economies, neighbourhood asso- ciations, and competing nationalities. The authors uncover the experiences of peoples and institutions that were part of the history of decolonization but whose experiences do not easily fit into the temporal dichotomy of a ‘before’ and ‘after’. Avoiding a strictly political interpretation of decoloniza- tion causes the process of disentanglement from formal colonial relations to become part of a much wider trend of re-thinking and re-ordering societies. This concern has been central to the large research programme ‘Indonesia across Orders; the Reorganization of Indonesian Society, 1930s-1960s’, initi- ated and coordinated by the Netherlands Institute for War Documentation in Amsterdam, which led to the articles in this volume. The decolonization of countries in Asia and Africa is one of the momentous events in the twentieth century. But did the shift to independence indeed affect the lives of the people in such a dramatic way as the political events suggestThe authors in this volume look beyond the political interpretations of decolonization and address the issue of social and economic reorientations which were necessitated or caused by the end of colonial rule. The book covers three major issues: public security; the changes in the urban environment, and the reorientation of the economies. Most articles search for comparisons transcending the colonial and national borders and adopt a time frame extending from the late colonial period to the early decades of independence in Asia and Africa (1930s-1970s). The volume is part of the research programme 'Indonesia across Orders' of the Netherlands Institute for War Documentation. Contributors to the volume are: Greg Bankoff, Raymond Betts, Ann Booth, Cathe+ѓrine Coque+ѓry-Vidrovitch, Freek Colombijn, Frederick Cooper, Bill Freund, Karl Hack, Jim Masselos and Willem Wolters The decolonization of countries in Asia and Africa is one of the momentous events in the twentieth century. But did the shift to independence indeed affect the lives of the people in such a dramatic way as the political events suggest? The authors in this volume look beyond the political interpretations of decolonization and address the issue of social and economic reorientations which were necessitated or caused by the end of colonial rule. The book covers three major issues: public security; the changes in the urban environment, and the reorientation of the economies. Most articles search for comparisons transcending the colonial and national borders and adopt a time frame extending from the late colonial period to the early decades of independence in Asia and Africa (1930s-1970s). The volume is part of the research programme 'Indonesia across Orders' of the Netherlands Institute for War Documentation. Contributors to the volume are: Greg Bankoff, Raymond Betts, Ann Booth, Cathérine Coquéry-Vidrovitch, Freek Colombijn, Frederick Cooper, Bill Freund, Karl Hack, Jim Masselos and Willem Wolters BEYOND EMPIRE AND NATION 1 Copyright 4 Contents 5 Prologue 7 Beyond empire and nation 13 Decolonization A brief history of the word 29 Decolonization and citizenship Africa between empires and a world of nations 45 The plural economy and its legacy in Asia 75 Decolonizing money Central banks in the Philippines and Indonesia 115 Decolonization and violence in Southeast Asia Crises of identity and authority 143 ‘For the good of the Barrio' Community associations and the state in the rural Philippines 1935-1965 173 Decolonized space The reconfiguring of national and public space in India 195 Solid as a rock, or a handful of dust? The security of land tenure in Indonesian cities from 1930-1960 219 The African city Decolonization and after 247 Racial and social zoning in African cities from colonization to postindependence 273 Contributors 293 Index 297