Research, ideas, and leadership for a more secure, peaceful world

Past Event
Seminar

The Truth about Hearts and Minds: Counterinsurgency and Development in the Postwar British Empire

Open to the Public

Thanks to its reputation as the one of the few successful counterinsurgencies of the twentieth century, the Malayan Emergency of the early 1950s has figured prominently in recent histories of military strategy. Yet an equally important context for the winning of "hearts and minds" is the model of rural development which dominated colonial policy at the same time and shared important features with the military campaign: the extensive use of propaganda, the close attention to personal relationships, and the delicate balance between coercion and persuasion. Why did British civilians and soldiers alike find it necessary to consider the thoughts and feelings of colonial subjects? Ultimately, officials embraced a psychological approach because their strategy for the postwar empire—the  diversion of popular aspirations from constitutional reform to economic improvement—required it.

Please join us! Coffee and tea provided. Everyone is welcome, but admittance will be on a first come–first served basis.

Date: Time: - Location: Littauer Building - Belfer Center Library, Room 369
This is one of the many evacuee villages built inland back of Singapore, for emergency occupancy by Malays living near the coast. This picture was taken in the summer of 1941.

About

Thanks to its reputation as the one of the few successful counterinsurgencies of the twentieth century, the Malayan Emergency of the early 1950s has figured prominently in recent histories of military strategy. Yet an equally important context for the winning of "hearts and minds" is the model of rural development which dominated colonial policy at the same time and shared important features with the military campaign: the extensive use of propaganda, the close attention to personal relationships, and the delicate balance between coercion and persuasion. Why did British civilians and soldiers alike find it necessary to consider the thoughts and feelings of colonial subjects? Ultimately, officials embraced a psychological approach because their strategy for the postwar empire—the  diversion of popular aspirations from constitutional reform to economic improvement—required it.

Please join us! Coffee and tea provided. Everyone is welcome, but admittance will be on a first come–first served basis.