At the end of the line : Colonial policing and the imperial endgame, 1945-80 / Georgina Sinclair.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sinclair, Georgina.

Series:

Studies in imperialism

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Police--Colonies--Great Britain--History--20th century.

Police.

Colonies.

Decolonization.

Great Britain.

History.

Decolonization--Great Britain.

Great Britain--Colonies--History--20th century.

Physical Description:

xii, 250 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Manchester : Manchester University Press, 2006.

Summary:

At the end of the line is the first comprehensive study of the colonial police and their complex, and sometimes controversial, role within Britain's long and turbulent process of decolonisation. An explosive era marked by political upheaval, unrest and conflict, the end of the British Empire provides the colourful backdrop for Georgina Sinclair's incisive examination of the role of the Colonial Police Service following its creation in 1936, as efforts were made to standardise imperial police forces and mould their policing to the British model.

From the British Caribbean to the Middle East, the Mediterranean to British Colonial Africa, and on to Southeast Asia, colonial police forces struggled to control the unrest and conflict that stemmed from Britain's traumatic withdrawal from its Empire. As the shadow of decolonisation grew longer, colonial police forces reverted back to their traditional role as a colony's first line of defence. As tensions increased throughout the Empire, so police powers escalated as new intelligence systems and counter-insurgency units were developed. Controversially, this book shows how coercion rather than consent was often deployed by police forces during this period of political dislocation.

Georgina Sinclair's dramatic study of colonial policing during this period creates a radical new understanding of the processes of decolonisation. Hence, this book will be vital reading for specialists and undergraduates studying the histories of policing, the British Empire and decolonisation, whilst enabling the general public to access a highly readable account of the history of British policing and imperial history.

Contents:

1 Towards an understanding of colonial policing: exploring policing models 10

2 Transferring policing models: Irish and English influences in Canada 36

3 'Too little, too late': post-war reforms within the Colonial Police Service 55

4 Policing the British Caribbean 82

5 Policing colonial conflict in the Mediterranean and the Middle East 104

6 Policing conflict in British colonial Africa 136

7 Policing colonial conflict in Southeast Asia 165

8 'Political policing?' Pawns in the imperial endgame 189

9 Remnants of Empire 210.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

9780719071386

0719071380

OCLC:

77793291