Magazine India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh all inherited over-centralized state monoliths with unitary ideologies of sovereignty from the British Raj. A woman holds a placard protesting against the sedition case filed by police against a school after a play performed by students denouncing a new citizenship law, in Bangalore, India, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2020. Credit: AP … Read more
Magazine The South China Sea islands were of little interest to both European imperialists and local empires – until they became viewed as a tool in geostrategic and nationalistic posturing. Advertisement Most Europeans came to Southeast Asia to trade, some came to proselytize and, eventually, some came to rule. But, from the outset, Portuguese, Spanish, … Read more
Magazine Hong Kong has recently witnessed the emergence of colonial nostalgia. How do these fond remembrances intersect with historical fact? In this Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2019, file photo, anti-government protesters carry British flags as residents gather to protest a teenage demonstrator shot at close range in the chest by a police officer and condemn police … Read more
Magazine The region’s search for language, historic memory, cultural heritage and – above all – dignity received a new impetus from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Advertisement In Central Asia, speaking the Russian language used to be a sign of education, high culture, and a marker of the upper class. Its mastery also presented more opportunities … Read more
Magazine “Territorial empire has mattered for the United States, even if most people on the U.S. mainland are only vaguely aware of its colonial history.” Credit: DepositphotosAdvertisement For an empire, the United States hides it well. In his 2019 book, “How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States,” Daniel Immerwahr told … Read more