This work dissects Britain's counter-insurgency campaign during the Malayan Emergency and her wider experience at decolonisation in Southeast Asia. The Darurat - as it is known in the local Malay language - is considered as the typical case of a successful modern-day counter-insurgency campaign. The conventional theoretical wisdom posits; that in order to win a counterinsurgency campaign, the force responsible for such a campaign must, similar to Malaya, embark upon a policy of ‘winning hearts and minds’. However, as more official colonial documents pertaining to the Emergency are uncovered and released to the public, the increasing publication of memoirs from individuals directly involved in the Emergency across the political spectrum, and the increased willingness of ex-insurgents as well as members of previously besieged communities affected by mass resettlement to come forward and share their accounts; there is ground to doubt the accuracy of our inherited and imbalanced knowledge of the Emergency along with the ‘lessons’ we have derived from it. This thesis has strengthened the argument, with an emphasis on Malay language and Jawi scripted sources, that; (1) through the accounts of native actors, both Malay and Chinese, the Malayan Emergency is an artefact of the earlier anti-Japanese experience during World War Two. And that (2) force which was used in the conduct of concluding the shooting war in 1954 was regarded as ‘exempted’ force wrapped in a grand narrative despite the on the-ground reality for the people.

Erlangen, Nürnberg, Univ., Diss., 2003. / Erscheinungsjahr an der Haupttitelstelle: 2002. Computerdatei im Fernzugriff.

World perception is governed by an us-versus-them binary mode of thought, which has been tackled as “Orientalism” in Edward Said’s book of the same title, in which he shows the discursive nature of this pattern and shows its dissemination across scholarly work, fictional novels, travel literature, paintings and other works. However, to talk about Orientalism now is to talk about a stagnant academic debate over what counts as orientalist and what does not, and to discuss whether the word “Orientalist” is in any way derogatory. This debate and the notion of Orientalism as racism come from the association of Orientalist representations with an idea of a “truth” behind them. Fictional works fluctuate between a notion of representation, and an artistic license to produce whatever sells to the majority of the public. Orientalism only exists through the passive acceptance of such divisions. Edward Said began his project at this point of general passivity, but the weight of a categorical system of knowledge division weighed down on him, protecting the pure notion of “truth” and the way it reproduces its own “passivity” that is constituent of Orientalism and of representation by and large. While the textual academic debate on Orientalism remains stuck in a deadlock of mutual accusations of deliberate distortion, Orientalism itself continues in the melange of truth and fiction, across the images that dominate and shape our world, strategically making use of the blur of categories to defend itself against such criticism. Seeing Orientalism as a representational system, where the category and a mode of suitability is what determines whether something is in or out, sheds a new light on the power of this reproductive social system of expectations. By drawing upon the aesthetics of Orientalism, building upon theorists of the image, like Jacques Rancière, W.J.T. Mitchell, and Jean Baudrillard, this thesis aims to update Said’s theory by returning Orientalism to its image-based nature, and by looking at the ways in which an image has the capacity to structure a history of divisions, and to highlight the ways in which this continuity is achieved and how it is maintained in the new world of moving images, to affect the same binarism that constructs its own passive subjectivity.

As Deng Xiaoping assumed China’s paramount leadership position in 1978, he first and foremost sought to bring China out of a period of economic decline and international isolation defined by the Cultural Revolution. Having already established first contacts with the US and Western European states in the early 1970s, Beijing under Deng swung open its doors further to the rest of the world in order to source foreign investment as well as technology transfers. While most existing literature has been focused on how Deng’s rise was received in the US, Western Europe and Asia, almost no literature exists on how this change was perceived in Eastern Europe. This study aims to address this lacuna by examining how the Soviet Union’s once ‘most-loyal’ client state and its bastion on the front lines of the Cold War, the GDR, increasingly defied a Moscow-imposed anti-China policy to engage China for economic and political gain during the 1980s. Chapter one will begin with a general overview of GDR-China relations before the period of analysis. It will highlight that East Germany first enjoyed amicable relations with China, only to be reined in during the Sino-Soviet Split by Moscow to conform to a general antiChina line. It will argue that as Deng rose to power in Beijing and repeated frictions beset Soviet-GDR relations, East Berlin gradually sought an independent foreign policy towards China in order to take advantage of China’s opening to the world. Chapter Two examines bilateral relations in the early 1980s. It argues that the GDR was at first motivated by potential trade ties with Beijing in order to bolster its sagging economy. Chapter Three reveals that relations continued to develop towards the middle of the decade, despite Moscow’s protestations. Honecker was duly rewarded with a state visit to Beijing in 1986 for his efforts, the first by a Soviet-bloc leader after the onset of the Sino-Soviet Split. Chapters Four and Five show that amidst Gorbachev’s Perestroika and Glasnost the GDR and the PRC increasingly found ideological commonalities in preserving the political statusquo in East Berlin and Beijing. This dogmatic resistance towards political reforms would eventually lead to very different consequences in both countries.

The following thesis is an investigation into the nature of the relationship between the Shahanshahs (‘King of Kings’) of Sassanid Persia and their chief subjects, with particular focus on the period from the end of the fifth century until the middle of the seventh. The intent is to contribute an understanding of the manner in which this relationship did or did not change during the period in question. The primary materials used have been the literary sources that remain extant, particularly the work of al-Tabari, but also those of the various Roman and Byzantine writers where appropriate. Although it would have been possible to treat the subject in a thematic manner, it was simpler to lay it out in a chronological fashion. In accordance with this, each of the three chapters corresponds with a period of Sassanid history. The introduction is concerned with the source material and its relevance to the question at hand. The first chapter investigates the years from the accession of Ardashir I to the death of Kavad. The second focuses on the reforms of Khusrau I and their relevance to the relationship while the final chapter continues until the fall of the Empire to the Muslim invaders. The conclusion then ties all of the previous chapters together and concludes the argument. The principal contention, as set out in the second and third chapters in addition to the conclusion, is that there was no measurable alteration to the relationship between the Shahanshahs and their nobles caused by the reforms of Khusrau I, nor did it appear to alter substantially during the entirety of the Empire. The evidence bears this out, both that of the Arabic sources and the Byzantine writers.

This work is, essentially, an assessment of Saddam's regime in Iraq, one of the cruellest and most violent regimes of modern times, and the Ba'th Party policies and ideological principles, recognised by Saddam as the theoretical basis for his practices. These policies and practices have had catastrophic consequences for Iraq, "home of ancient civilisations", jeopardising its sovereignty and future and permitting the west and the west-sponsored states in the region to gain favourable concessions at the expense of Iraq's interests. This thesis is divided into nine chapters: The first deals with the Ba'th Party, its founding, ideology, set-backs and seizure of power. The second deals with the founding of the Ba'th Party in Iraq, its political development throughout the Monarchy regime, Qasim's regime and the period during which the Ba'thists came to power on 8 February 1963. The third deals with Saddam's early life and his political activities throughout 'rif's regime. The fourth deals with the circumstances in which the Ba'th Party returned to power. The fifth deals with the presidency of Ahmad Hasan al-Bakr and examines Saddam's role and the nature of the Ba'thist authority during that period. The sixth deals with Saddam's presidency and his assumption of all responsibility for the state and the Party. The seventh and eighth deal with the first and second Gulf wars, the occupation of Kuwait and the results these two destructive wars, embarked upon at the whim of one man, have imposed upon the Iraqi army and people. The ninth comprises a summary of the thesis, in which Saddam's strange and unstable personality will be analysed and a possible solution will be suggested for the future of Iraq - a community different in composition and circumstances from any other country

Saudi Arabian foreign policy decisions are made by a small group in private and with little public discussion or explanation. Open debates on issues are not encouraged, particularly those that have a direct relation to the nation's security. No concept of public accountability exists. Secrecy is stressed to ensure internal security, as well as stability in the society. However, foreign policy decisions are not made without considerable thought and time spent in discussing the issues with those the leaders of government believe can make a contribution to their understanding of the problems. The decision-making process has the following four characteristics: 1) There is a strong link between domestic and foreign policies because of the historical legacy of the state. For this reason, decision-making includes members of the royal family and religious establishment. 2) Other groups do participate and wield differing degrees of influence depending on the issue area. 3) Much bargaining occurs before an important decision is announced. 4) The process is slow, as the leaders are not prepared to meet crisis situations. For this reason, the leadership usually turns to outside powers to settle the problem. In addition to the delay in making a decision, there is also the failure to follow through. These characteristics are influenced by the increasing complexity of Saudi Arabia's regional and global environment, and by the growing demand on the country to play a larger role in global politics. The methods used by the government result more in a reactive rather than a pro-active policy. The Saudis are more likely to react to events, panic in crises, and delay making decisions at the time the decisions should be made.

All kinds of travellers came to Bali in the 1930s. Many of them produced books and photographs, which later incited more visitors to come and see Bali for themselves. The works of these image-makers who travelled to Bali are the result of actual experience and recounted journeys. Their descriptions of Bali, although based on authentic experience, are also the result of literary and pictorial readings. Their accounts or representations are often enriched with material accumulated from fiction, biblical references, and scientific books, as well as paintings and photographs. These image-makers of Bali did not arrive without mental luggage. Both the textual and visual image-makers constructed images of the paradise according to their own fantasies and personal experience, as did the consumers of those images. The representation of Balinese women was thus heavily influenced by earlier travellers, photographers, and scholars. However, it is difficult to know who imitates whom and whose images can be cited as authentic. The previous readings or visual representations condition expectations in each traveller, so that she or he fashions images inspired by those already in circulation. The themes which recur over and over in photographs confirm existing stereotypical concepts. In other words, these representations influence perceptions of the 'other' that persist to the present day.

'Daughters of the Lesser God: Dalit Women's Education in Postcolonial Pune' examines the nexus between caste, gender and state pedagogical practices in relationship to Dalit (exuntouchable) women ofPune (India). Based on interviews with three generations of Dalit women, it examines the ways in which they have experienced and made use of their formal education in schools and colleges. It traces their lives as they have over the generations migrated from rural areas to the cities, and from city slums to, in some cases, middle-class neighbourhoods. The women belong to two Dalit communities - the Mahars and the Matangs - who are traditionally rivals and competitors. It is argued that the education system discriminates against Dalit women in ways that mirror their socio-economic and religious disabilities. Dalits valourise institutes of formal education for escaping their historical and contemporary degeneration. They look upon education as a primary means of gaining employment, and of advancing economically and socially. Nonetheless, the process of education frequently subjects Dalit girls to humiliating experiences that smothers the hopes of many. These are described and analysed in detail, revealing how the caste system subjects Dalit in general, and Dalit women in particular, to the· 'physical and mental violence' of constant indignities and humiliations. Although the recently burgeoning writing by Dalits has a lot to say on the experience of Dalit men, Dalit women are largely neglected in this literature - something that this thesis seeks to rectify. The thesis also interrogates the ways in which culture is deployed and represented, showing how the process of subjectivation works to produce not merely forms of domination but also complicity and dissent. In recent years, increasing numbers of Dalit women have found ways of resisting the prevalent hegemony, and the research pinpoints the ways in which some have managed to use the education system to their advantage. Wider questions are raised about the ways that the Dalits, and specifically Dalit women, create spaces and sites for their own self-assertion and betterment, and how they engage with modernity in other ways. The dissertation is concerned with contributing to and furthering the dialogue on gendering education and caste. Dalit lives are built on a long history of suffering, anxiety, desire, and struggle, and the creative visions of social justice put forward by Dalits can continue to inspire and shape the consciousness of local and transnational participants in their battles against oppressive and exploitative systems.

Beginning with Edward Said's seminal text, I will question the assumption of Orientalism as a universal and didactic discourse that was conducted exclusively from the West to and for the East. Said's overarching condemnation of Orientalism as an exclusively Western hegemonic structure overlooks the paradigm that Indians were not just collaborative producers of the Orientalist text but selective readers as well. I will argue that the contribution made by the influx of colonised people from the periphery to the colonial centre from the eighteenth century onwards has historically been overlooked. Indian Orientalisms developed along their own particular axes by both utilising and reversing Orientalisms. Through this discursive utilisation, Indians were able to formulate responses to the dominant ideologies of Orientalism and as a consequence created new forms of discourse, both literary and historical. My thesis aims to illustrate that Indians, both in the colony and the metropole, were active and not passive agents in their negotiations of colonial as well as post-colonial space. This legacy needs to be recognised, as it continues to resonate and pose questions in contemporary times where the success of multicultural states in an increasingly globalised world is of paramount importance. Generically, I have adopted non-fiction as the best form in which to convey these hidden histories. Autobiographies, diaries, letters, memoirs and travelogues establish the fluidity and imaginative endeavour that existed between the colony and the metropole. These historical documents illuminate a deeply contested colonial and post-colonial world, where colony became home and home could become the colony. Ultimately, this project aims to identify the Orient within Britain itself and also argue that Indian travellers and settlers have engaged in similar "Orientalising" projects to render Britain intelligible for the Oriental mind, in ways that deconstruct the conventional Orientalist power relations associated with not only the high colonial period but also the pre and post colonial eras.