This thesis is a comparative analysis of the process of national identity formation in Eritrea and Lebanon, examining the different paths both societies took after the end of the European colonial/mandate regimes up until the early 1990s. Grounded in theories relating to the concepts of nationalism and national identity, a contrast-orient history approach is taken that seeks to unpack the international, regional, and domestic factors that impacted on the formation of national identity in both cases. The creation of both countries by their respective colonial and mandate power, Italy and France, took place under different circumstances and by different means. Yet in both cases different communities, half of which were Muslim and the other half Christian, were joined under a single administration. The fact that in both Eritrea and Lebanon one of the communities had nationalist aspirations linked to the larger neighbouring political entity of co-religionists hampered the transfer of allegiances to the newly created entity and the development of a cohesive national identity in the wake of being granted self-determination. This thesis argues that, despite their different treatment by the international community with regards to their right to self-determination, a form of syncretistic nationalism developed in the territorial entities created by the colonial/mandate powers in both Eritrea and Lebanon. While Lebanon was able to obtain independence from the French in 1943, Eritrea was not granted independence after the defeat of their colonial master, Italy. Instead, federation and finally annexation by Ethiopia resulted in thirty years of liberation struggle. Thus this thesis affirms the aptness of the concept of syncretistic nationalism for multicommunal societies while attesting to the difficulties of its development and realisation through the analysis of the process of national identity formation in Eritrea and Lebanon.

This study is an attempt to analyse the process of proletarianisation in Swazi society with particular reference to the sugar industry in that country. We have also tried to explain why women's labour tends to be located in both subsistence and commodity agriculture, and what the implications of this are for the social, economic and political status of women in Swazi society. Through an analysis of the historical processes which led to colonisation and the consequent land alienation, labour migration, taxation and exploitation of the Swazi people, the study has tried to show the socio-economic and political consequences of capitalist development within Swaziland over the last century. We have also discussed the emergence and decline of white settler agriculture and shown how, together with the collaboration of the colonial state, white commodity agriculture laid the basis for the development of agribusiness in the economy, especially in relation to the sugar industry. Within the sugar industry itself, which has dominated the Swazi economy for the last thirty years in terms of land use, numbers of workers employed, and the size of national revenue generated, there is an ongoing struggle between labour and capital, which manifests itself in various forms, both overt and covert. The history of working class resistance in the industry vis-a-vis capital and the colonial and neo-colonial state, is discussed with a view to better understanding this section of the Swazi proletariat in anticipation of the revolutionary changes which are sweeping across the Southern African sub-continent.

This thesis examInes the strategic character of South Africa's regional and multilateral trade strategies. It looks at the interplays between the domestic, regional and multilateral levels during the period from 1994 to 2004. The regional focus is on Southern Africa, looking in particular at the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Trade; and the multilateral/global backdrop is the World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations from Seattle to Doha 'Development' Round. The question at the core of this research is how regionalism is appropriated by state actors to respond both to domestic and global imperatives? The central question is framed around analysing the extent to which South Africa uses regional and multilateral trade strategies to address its domestic developmental concerns and to build capacity for effective articulation at the global level. These developmental concerns encompass both social equity objectives and strategic competitive needs of domestic capital. For South Africa, the region's importance is linked to its strategic response to domestic growth challenges and exigencies linked to external forces. Drawing on the New Regionalism Approach (NRA) and Competitive Strategic Regionalism Approach as analytic frameworks, this thesis argues that South Africa uses regionalism as a strategy to address its domestic growth challenges, extend political influence in the sub-region and project power at the global level. However, due to structural disarticulation between South Africa and the region, a crucial paradox in South Africa's overall regional and multilateral trade strategies is apparent. The thesis sets out to examine this paradox, concluding that it undermines the coherence of South Africa's post-apartheid regional and multilateral trade strategies.

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This thesis examines the writing of individuals whose stance during the Algerian war of 1954-62 might broadly be defined as favourable to a process of colonial reform. Focusing above all on the integration programme championed by Jacques Soustelle, the present study will seek to challenge colonial reformers for their over-generous reading of France's colonial past; overturn their claim that they had the consent of the Muslim population for their proposals; critique their reading of the European population as willing to embrace change; criticise them for replicating many of the Eurocentric notions of progress and development associated with the old colonial policy of assimilation; and finally, show how in their search for explanations for the failure of reform, they failed to appreciate that the dynamics of the colonial system prevented its reform. Whilst the proposals of reformers were, for the most part, guided by a genuine, if misguided, good will, the thesis will also identify certain areas where the attitudes they displayed, and the measures they proposed, fell short of the liberal principles which they claimed to uphold. In constructing a critique of the colonial reformers' position, the study draws upon the work of anti-colonialists theorists writing at the time of the conflict such as Frantz Fanon and Albert Memmi and upon the assessments of contemporary historians. Whilst the territory over which this thesis ranges has been partially mapped, it has not been comprehensively so. No previous study has fully analysed the integration programme, particularly with the aim of establishing the ways in which it differed from a policy of assimilation, or considered at length the ideas of its chief architect, Jacques Soustelle.

This work is an investigation into the recent political crisis in Algeria, with a focus on the Islamist party at its heart—the Front islamique du salut. It provides a theoretical and contextual framework by which we can understand the party's emergence and subsequent decline, arguing for greater acceptance of alternative, non-secular politics where there is a clear public appetite for such change. In particular, it emphasises the ways in which the FIS sought to establish a legitimate mandate through a blend of continuity and change. This, I argue, is evident in the party's religio-nationalist modes of expression, which built on yet offered a crucial distinction from the FLN's relationship to nationalism and Islam. It is also evident in the FIS' interaction with the state both during and after the period of its legalisation. My analysis shows how the party evolved towards political maturity and moderation, seeking to engage with rather than subvert the state institutions, albeit from an adversarial position. That this was ultimately unsuccessful is most clearly evident from the military-led campaign to rid Algeria of any real Islamist opposition, despite the legitimacy of the FIS' electoral success. My conclusion that the FIS was denied this legitimacy is based on a reading of contemporary political theory as well as an assessment of political developments on the ground.

This thesis contributes to an ongoing debate on the nature of Islam’s role in the emergence of nationalism in the Muslim world in general, and in Egypt in the years 1879-1882. While theories of nations and nationalism reveal a contested theoretical landscape, many scholars agree that Islam and nationalism are antithetical and expound divergent conceptions of community. For their part, Middle East scholars, view the ‘Urabi Revolt 1879-1882, as a ‘protonationalist’ precursor to the ‘full-blown’ Egyptian nationalism of the early twentieth century. Finally, ‘ulama participation in the ‘Urabi Revolt has been mainly ignored, most likely due to the dominant narrative – increasingly challenged – that ‘ulama were, to a great extent, marginalized over the nineteenth century in Egypt due to reforms that challenged their spheres of influence. On the theoretoical tension between Islam and nationalism and in asserting the nationalism of the ‘Urabi Revolt, I explore the case of Egypt, the ‘Urabi Revolt itself and the role of Islamic clerics, thinkers and activists. These key actors put forward convincing views of how Islamic and nationalist notions of community were in fact reconcilable. Furthermore, I argue that Egypt represents an exception to the dominant scholarly view that sees many nationalisms of the Middle East emerging in the aftermath of the Ottoman defeat of 1918. I offer an alternative account of the ‘ulama’s fate during the nineteenth century and explore their role in the ‘Urabi Revolt. While reforms did reduce the ‘ulama’s wealth, economic privileges and political influence this did not, I argue, result in complete marginality because ‘ulama monopoly of the religious and educational sphere remained largely unchallenged. Legal reforms may have displaced ‘ulama from key positions but these were not as comprehensive as some scholars have suggested. In the emerging nationalism of 1879 – 1882 and the British invasion, I argue that ‘ulama played a prominent role, both in the intellectual articulation of nationalism and within the poilitical and revolutionary events. ‘Ulama both defined and were active participants in the nationalist movement’s relationship to contending political forces including the Ottoman Empire, the local Khedive and indeed the invading British forces, imbuing Egyptian nationalism with a distinct Islamic character.

This thesis examines a number of specific efforts by the United Nations to offer and administer development aid to newly independent and ‘underdeveloped’ countries from the Global South during the decades following World War Two. Broadly, this thesis casts light on the competitive nature of postwar international development. In doing so, it examines development as a contest, whereby, the United Nations sought to stake out a claim to its share of the global development process during the 1950s and early 1960s. Crucially, this thesis sets this struggle against the backdrop of the increasing demand for development aid that accompanied the advent of mass decolonization in Africa by 1960. Consequently, this gave rise to a heightened competition over what type of aid best suited newly independent countries and who should administer it. Here, this study demonstrates how the UN contended with both bilateral and multilateral aid options outside the Organization, as well as, the challenges associated with providing development aid to countries that requested noncolonial assistance yet jealously guarded their newly acquired sovereignty. Finally, it was through the UN’s belief in its development directive, its unique ‘brand’ of aid and the value of its operational pursuits that it added a crucial dimension to the development discourse of the period. At the UN, this resulted in the expansion of the UN’s development reach and development becoming a primary, if not the chief focus of the Organization during the First UN Development Decade of the 1960s. At the same time, it was during the postwar decades that the Organization helped to give development a global quality through a concerted effort towards the internationalization of development aid. Altogether, this thesis extends the boundaries of the study of postwar development by demonstrating how the UN functioned as an important autonomous institution and actor as it promoted economic and social development through multilateral development aid. Furthermore, this study challenges traditional interpretations of the UN that depict the Organization as solely a foreign policy tool of its member states or as an Organization predominantly concerned with peace and security issues during this era.

This thesis surveys some of the most important aspects of the economy of Ilorin in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The aspects surveyed are (1) the involvement of Ilorin Town in long-distance trade; (2) three of its major industries, namely, the production of lantana beads, narrow-loom cloth, and pottery; and (3) the town’s agricultural hinterland, called the “metropolitan districts” in colonial times. The initial general impression gained by a student of the Ilorin economy is one of great importance and prosperity in the nineteenth century, followed by a marked decline and failure to redevelop during the colonial period. Thus, a major theme of this thesis is an examination of this impression, with regard to the three aspects named above. Ilorin’s commitment to an intermediary role is of particular importance to an understanding of its prosperity and decline, and this role is examined in the chapters on trade and the metropolitan districts. Further themes include the following: the economic continuities between Old Oyo and Ilorin; the role of the slave trade, slaves and other dependants in the Ilorin economy; the part played in this economy by members of the Ilorin elite; and the similarities and differences between major industrial groups. Prior to the discussion of these themes, a brief outline of the political and administrative history of Ilorin provides necessary background information and an introduction to names and terms.

In the century and a half since the days of the ‘scramble for Africa’ a vast body of literature has emerged attempting to disentangle the complexities of the ‘New Imperialism’. One of the most prominent and enduring theories was proposed by Ronald Robinson and John Gallagher in Africa and the Victorians, which linked the partition of East Africa with geo-strategic concerns connected to Egypt and India. Building upon John Darwin’s initial critique, this thesis will re-examine the partition of East Africa in an attempt at offering a comprehensive refutation of the Egypto-centric interpretation. The explanatory model will be exposed as a post-hoc fallacy, neither grounded in documentary evidence nor consistent with the sequence of events and policy-decisions. An alternative understanding will be proposed in which the partition of East Africa in successive stages from 1884 to 1895 formed part of a British policy continuum in the region, wherein protection of commercial interests and suppression of the slave trade were the principal determinants. By tracing the chronology of the partition it will be contended that its ultimate geographical scope was substantially determined at the very beginning of the colonisation process; whilst imperial agency were decisive in expanding the British sphere of influence to comprise Uganda in 1890 and similarly, public opinion was crucial for retaining it in 1892. In particular it will be argued that partition largely represented the cost-effective transplantation of British anti-slave trade policy from the maritime to the continental sphere, a shift enabled by the use of railway technology.