The quest for security : sovereignty, race, and the defense of the British Empire, 1898-1931 / Jesse Tumblin.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Tumblin, Jesse (Jesse Cole), 1987- author.

Standardized Title:

Widening gyre

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

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

Decolonization.

Imperialism--Government policy--Great Britain--History--20th century.

Imperialism.

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

Great Britain.

Commonwealth countries--History--20th century.

Commonwealth countries.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (ix, 304 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2020.

Summary:

The British Empire entered the twentieth century in a state of crisis, with many in the legal establishment fearing that the British constitution could no longer cope with the complexity of imperial institutions. At the same time, the military establishment feared the empire was becoming impossible to defend from multiplying threats. In this innovative study, Jesse Tumblin shows how Britain and its largest colonies, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, and South Africa, were swept up in a collective effort to secure the Empire in the early twentieth century. The hierarchy of colonial politics created powerful incentives for colonies to militarize before World War I, reshaping their constitutional and racial relationships toward a dream beyond colonial status. The colonial backstory of a century of war and violence shows how these dreams made 'security' the dominating feature of contemporary politics.

Contents:

Colonial federationism, security, and the South African War

Lessons of South Africa : security and political culture in the British world, 1902-1906

Security, race, and Dominion status, 1907-1909

The collapse of consensus and control, 1910-1914

Race, conscription, and the meaning of sovereignty in war

The sharp sickle : new realities of sovereignty in the British Empire, 1918-1926

Epilogue. The Statute of Westminster : a once and future sovereignty.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 28 Oct 2019).

ISBN:

1-108-58485-3

1-108-59878-1

1-108-59574-X