Decolonisation Of The British Empire In Asia Africa

AY2020/2021 Semester 2

After the end of the Second World War, the British Empire shifted its imperialist policy due to increased economic costs to sustain its colonies and the loss of strategically important spots, such as India and Suez. The rise of the United States and the Soviet Union also led to changing balance of power. With the rise of nationalist sentiments in Asia and Africa, it became increasingly uneconomical and difficult for Britain to hold on to colonies, leading to decolonisations in the 1950s and 1960s. This module explores the political, economic, social and diplomatic factors behind the decline of the British Empire and whether the Empire was strong or weak post-1945. It also examines how patterns of decolonisation varied in British colonies in Asia and Africa. Decolonisation was executed through diverging means in different pace. For example, democratisations and decentralisations took place in Malaya and Kenya soon after the Second World War while democratic reforms were absent in Hong Kong. While British administration ceased in Singapore in 1963, Hong Kong remained a British colony until 1997. Lastly, the module investigates various means employed by the colonial governments to suppress dissidents and capture the `hearts and minds' of the locals during the transitional period, ranging from psychological tests conducted in the Malaya Emergency and secret opinion polling systems in Hong Kong, to `sanitary surveillance' in Singapore and repressive interrogation camps in Mau Mau Uprisings. In doing so, students will critically examine the relationships between the British Empire and its colonies, the Cold War and decolonisations, and culture and colonial statecrafts in Africa and Asia from 1945 to 1997.