BEYOND THE WILLOW PALISADE: MANCHURIA AND THE HISTORY OF CHINA'S INNER ASIAN FRONTIER

Dr David Sneath is the Director of the Mongolia and Inner Asia Studies Unit at Cambridge University and a lecturer in Social Anthropology. He is a Fellow of Corpus Christi College where he is Deputy Tutor for Advanced Students and Director of Studies in Archaeology and Anthropology. He is the Co-editor of the journal Inner Asia and his most recent book Changing Inner Mongolia: Pastoral Mongolian Society and the Chinese State was published in 2000 by Oxford University Press (reviewed in Asian Affairs, June 2002). The following article is based on a lecture which he gave to the Society on 17 July, 2002.     

THE DEVELOPMENT OF A DEATH CULT IN 1930s JAPAN AND THE DECISION TO DROP THE ATOM BOMB

In the 1930s Japan developed a death cult which had a profound effect on the conduct of the Japanese armed forces in the Pacific War, 1941–1945. As a result of government directed propaganda campaign after the overthrow of the Shogunate in 1868, the ruling military cliques restored an Imperial system of government which placed Emperor Meiji as the Godhead central to the constitution and spiritual life of the Japanese nation. A bastardised Bushido cult emerged. It combined with a Social-Darwinist belief in Japan's manifest destiny to dominate Asia. The result was a murderous brutality that became synonymous with Japanese treatment of prisoners of war and conquered civilians. Japan's death cult was equally driven by a belief in self-sacrifice characterised by suicidal Banzai charges and kamikaze attacks. The result was kill ratios of Japanese troops in the Pacific War that were unique in the history of warfare. Even Japanese civilians were expected to sacrifice their lives in equal measure in the defence of the homeland. It was for this reason that American war planners came to the shocking estimate that as many as 900,000 Allied troops could die in the conquest of mainland Japan – Operation DOWNFALL. Contrary to the view of numbers of revisionist historians in the post-war period, who have variously argued that the atom bombs were used to prevent Soviet entry into the war against Japan, Francis Pike, author of Hirohito's War, The Pacific War, 1941 – 1945 [Bloomsbury 2015] reaffirms that the nuclear weapon was used for one purpose alone – to bring the war to a speedy end and to save the lives of American troops.     

The noble art of the chase in the Arab world

Sir Terence Clark is a Council Member of the Society. He retired from the Diplomatic Service after a distinguished career spent mainly in the Middle East, where he was Ambassador to Iraq and Oman, and is the author of many articles in specialist journals on hunting and co‐author of The Saluqi: Coursing Hound of the East (1995), Dogs in Antiquity (2001) and Oman in Time (2001). This article is based on a lecture delivered to the Society on 23 October, 2002.     

Malaysia: the making of a grand design

Anthony Stockwell is Professor of Imperial and Commonwealth History at Royal Holloway, University of London. He was President of the Royal Asiatic Society in 2002–2003 and is currently a Vice-President. His publications include British Policy and Malay Politics during the Malayan Union Experiment (1979) and, as editor, British Documents on End of Empire: Malaya, 1942–1957 (three parts, 1995). He has been joint editor of the Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History since 1990. This is a version of a lecture delivered to the Royal Society for Asian Affairs on 26 February 2003.     

ERIC NEWBY,THE HINDU KUSH AND THE GANGES

Hugh Carless was Oriental Secretary in the British Embassy in Kabul and then in the Embassy in Tehran in the 1950s. In 1956 he accompanied Eric Newby on their journey to the Hindu Kush. Later he was British Ambassador to Venezuela and a member of the Council of this Society.

This is the edited text of the lecture which he gave to the Society on 21 March 2007.     

Stilwell in the stocks: the Chinese nationalists and the allied powers in the second world war

Dr Hans van de Ven is Reader in Modern Chinese History at Cambridge University. His most recent publication is War and Nationalism in China, 1925–45 (Routledge, London, 2003; this will be reviewed in the next issue of Asian Affairs). Other publications include Warfare in Chinese History (Leiden, Brill, 2000) and From Friend To Comrade: The Founding of the Chinese Communist Party (University of California Press, Berkeley, 1991). This article is based on the talk which Dr Hans van de Ven gave to the Society on 11 March 2003.     

The Cultural Revolution in Inner Mongolia 1967–1969: The Purge of the “Heirs of Genghis Khan”

This is the edited text of the Lecture which he delivered to the Society on 8 January 2008, immediately after he had been presented with the Sir Percy Sykes Medal. 1 1. The Sir Percy Sykes Memorial Medal, established in 1947, in memory of Sir Percy Sykes (1869–1945), a British soldier and diplomat who spent 25 years associated with Iran, and was author of one of the first histories of that country, A History of Persia, as well as of the travel book Ten Thousand Miles in Persia. The medal is ‘to be awarded by the Council of The Royal Society for Asian Affairs at such time or times as the council may in its discretion think fit, to any distinguished traveller, writer or other distinguished person whatsoever approved by the Society, who is deemed to have increased man's knowledge of and stimulated man's interest in Asian countries, or done work furthering cultural relations between the Commonwealth and Asian countries?…’. Sit Percy Sykes is not to be confused with his contemporary, Sir Mark Sykes, co-author of the 1916 Anglo-French ‘Sykes-Picot’ Agreement. Previous recipients of the award have included Freya Stark, Albert Hourani, Ella Maillart, Hugh Richardson, Giuseppe Tucci, Gunnar Jarring, Denis Wright, Peter Hopkirk, Mark Tully and William Dalrymple. (See Activities of the Society, page 332 of this issue.)     

Oil,arms procurement and security in the Persian gulf

Professor Anoushiravan Ehteshami is Professor of International Relations at the University of Durham. He is also Vice-President of the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies (BRISMES). His most recent publications include The Foreign Policies of Middle East States (co-editor, 2002), Iran and Eurasia (co-editor, 2000) and The Changing Balance of Power in Asia (1998).     

Reviews

Dates and Date Cultivation of the ‘Iraq.

Mr. V. H. W. Dowson, of the Mesopotamian Agricultural Department, on his election as a member of the Central Asian Society, has presented to the library copies of Parts I. and II. of his monograph on “Dates and Date Cultivation of the ‘Iraq’ (W. Heffer and Sons, Cambridge). Part III. is still in the press.

River Control in Mesopotamia. By E. B. Howell, C.S.I., C.I.E. Quarterly Review for January, 1922.

Pioneers of Progress : Empire Builders : Sir Robert G. Sandrman. By A. L. P. Tucker, C.I.E. London : Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. 1921. Price : 2s. 6d. net.     

Book Reviews

Books reviewed: Thomas Nicholas and Oliver Bernhof, George Forster, A Voyage around the World John, Merritt, That Voluminous Squatter, W.E. Abbott, Wingen Stephen Hamnett and Robert Freestone, The Australian Metropolis: A Planning History David Lawrence, Kakadu: The Making of a National Park Geoffrey Bolton and Jenny Gregory, Claremont: A History Heinz, Schütte, Der Ursprung der Messer und Beile: Gedanken zum zivilisatorischen Projekt rheinischer Missionare im frühkolonialen Neuguinea (The origin of knives and axes: Reflections on the civilizing goal of Rhenish Missionaries in early colonial New Guinea) Dorothy Shineberg, The People Trade: Pacific Island Labourers and New Caledonia, 1865–1930 Judith M. Heimann, The Most Offending Soul Alive: Tom Harrisson and his Remarkable Life Victor Treadwell, Buckingham and Ireland 1616–1628. A Study in Anglo‐Irish Politics Joseph M. Levine, Between the Ancients and Moderns: Baroque Culture in Restoration England Christina and David Bewleyl, Gentleman Radical: A Life of John Horne Tooke 1736–1812 Peter Dennis and Jeffrey Grey, (eds) The 1999 Chief of Army/Australian War Memorial Military History Conference Mary Lindemann, Medicine and Society in Early Modern Europe Ian Germani and Robin Swales, Symbols, Myths and Images of the French Revolution. Essays in Honour of James A. Leith David E. Barclay and Eric D. Weitz, Between Reform and Revolution. German Socialism and Communism from 1840 to 1990 Peter Juviler, Freedom's Ordeal: The Struggle for Human Rights and Democracy in Post‐Soviet States Philip Curtin, Disease and Empire: The Health of European Troops in the Conquest of Africa Robert Aldrich and John Connell, The Last Colonies Radhika Mohanram, Black Body: Women, Colonialism and Space Mabel Lee and Michael Wilding, History, Literature and Society: Essays in Honour of S.N. Mukherjee, Sydney Studies in Society and Culture, 15 S.N. Mukherjee, Citizen Historian: Explorations in Historiography. Sydney Studies in Society and Culture, 13 Jonathan Spence, Mao Frederick C. Teiwes with Warren, Sun China's Road to Disaster, Mao, Central Politicians, and Provincial Leaders in the Unfolding of the Great Leap Forward 1955–1959 Dr Maung Maung, The 1988 Uprising in Burma. Monograph 49 Wim Stokhof and Paul van der Velde, ASEM: A Window of Opportunity Manoranjan Mohanty and Partha Math Mukherji with Olle Törnquist, People's Rights: Social Movements and the State in the Third World James Elliott, Tourism: politics and public sector management Bruce L. Benson, To Serve and Protect: Privatization and Community in Criminal Justice Alan Hunt, Governing Morals: A Social History of Moral Regulation Andrew Vincent, Political Theory: Tradition and Diversity Gerald Sider and Gavin Smith, Between History and Histories: The Making of Silences and Commemorations     

Radicals and moderates in the Liberal party in 1886: The processes of political assimilation in the house of commons∗

Joseph F O'Callaghan: The Cortes of Castile‐León, 1188–1350 (University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 1989; pp. x, 265; ISBN 0–8122–8125‐X; £31.95)

Jack P. Greene, Charles F. Mullett, and Edward C. Papenfuse, Jr. (eds), Magna Charta for America: James Abercromby's ‘An Examination of the Acts of Parliament Relative to the Trade and the Government of our American Colonies’ (1752) and ‘De Jure et Gubernatione Coloniarum, or An Inquiry into the Nature, and the Rights of Colonies, Ancient and Modern’ (1774), Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society, Held in Philadelphia for Promoting Useful Knowledge, Vol. 165 (The American Philosophical Society, Independence Square/Philadelphia, 1986; pp. v‐xii, 346; ISBN 0–87169–165–5; US ISSN 0065–9738).     

THE PRODUCTION OF HISTORY IN MALAWI IN THE 1960s: THE LEGACY OF SIR HARRY JOHNSTON, THE INFLUENCE OF THE SOCIETY OF MALAWI AND THE ROLE OF DR KAMUZU BANDA AND HIS MALAWI CONGRESS PARTY

This article joins the debate on culture, history and politicsin postcolonial Malawi. Concentrating on the production of historyin the 1960s, the paper shows how the decade marked the beginningsof serious research, teaching and public discourse of Malawi'shistory. It proceeds to examine factors, such as the existingliterature, which helped to fashion the direction which theplayers, mainly teachers and researchers, took in accomplishingtheir tasks. In this connection the paper considers the mannerin which Harry Johnston, the first person to write widely onthe peoples of the Lake Malawi region, influenced the historiographyof the country. It also evaluates the role of the Society ofMalawi and its publication, the Society of Malawi Journal, inthe production of history. Finally, the article pays attentionto the ways in which the work of historians was affected byPresident Kamuzu Banda and the policies and actions of his rulingMalawi Congress Party.     

Post‐war Iraq: an assessment

Sir Terence Clark is a Council Member of the Society. He retired from the Diplomatic Service after a distinguished career spent mainly in the Middle East, where he was Ambassador to Iraq and Oman. He is the author of many articles in specialist journals and co‐author of Oman in Time (2001). On 18 June 2003, Sir Terence, together with Sir Harold Walker, Chairman of the Society, spoke to the Society about the situation in Iraq as it then appeared. The following is an edited and updated version of Sir Terence's talk.     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: Louise Fawcett and Mónica Serrano, eds., Regionalism and Governance in the Americas: Continental Drift. Jon C. Pevehouse, Democracy from Above: Regional Organizations and Democratization. Paul W. Drake and Eric Hershberg, eds., State and Society in Conflict: Comparative Perspectives on Andean Crises. Scott Mainwaring, Ana María Bejarano, and Eduardo Pizarro Leongómez, eds., The Crisis of Democratic Representation in the Andes. Edward Epstein and David Pion-Berlin, eds., Broken Promises? The Argentine Crisis and Argentine Democracy. Gretchen Helmke, Courts Under Constraints: Judges, Generals and Presidents in Argentina. Eva Paus, Foreign Investment, Development, and Globalization: Can Costa Rica Become Ireland?     

B. Review article

There are two works which are tailor‐made for a short ‘double‐barrelled’ review article. They are: (a) Akbar S.Ahmed, Millennium and Charisma among Pathans: A Critical Essay in Social Anthropology (London, Henley and Boston: Routledge and Kegan Paul, Ltd., 1976), pp.173 (price not indicated, but around £4.50); (b) idem, Pukhtun Economy and Society: Traditional Structure and Economic Development in a Tribal Society (London, Henley and Boston: Routledge and Kegan Paul, Ltd., 1980), pp.406, diagrams, maps, plates (price not indicated but around £15.00 or $35.00).     

The ‘Revolution’ of 27 May 1960 in Turkey: British Policy towards Turkey

Muslim National Communism in the Soviet Union: A Revolutionary Strategy for the Colonial World by Alexandre A. Bennigsen and S. Enders Wimbush. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1979. Pp. xxii + 265, illustrations, index, bibliography. $20.00.

Islam, Nationalism and Communism in a Traditional Society: The Case of the Sudan by Gabriel Warburg. London: Frank Cass, 1978. Pp. 253 + xi.

A Textbook on Muslim Law by David Pearl. London: Croom Helm, 1979. Pp. 317, bibliography, legislation, index and glossary. £14.95 (hardback), £6.95 (paperback).     

THE RSAA MAP COLLECTION

In the century since its foundation, the Royal Society for Asian Affairs has amassed a collection of over 1,000 historic maps. This illustrated article by the Society's archivist provides an introduction to a number of the more important maps in the collection, including General Sam Browne's map indicating the invasion routes of Afghanistan in the Second Afghan War; rare maps of Turkey in the 19^th and early 20^th century; Egypt; the Arabian Peninsula; India; and Central Asia.     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: Alvarez, Sonia E., Evelina Dagnino, and Arturo Escobar, eds. Cultures of Politics/Politics of Cultures: Re-visioning Latin American Social Movements. Huggins, Martha K. Political Policing: The United States and Latin America. Thomas, Kenneth P. Capital Beyond Borders: States and Firms in the Auto Industry, 1960–1994. Brennan, James P., ed. Peronism and Argentina. Munck, Gerardo. Authoritarianism and Democratization: Soldiers and Workers in Argentina, 1976–1983. Stern, Steve J. Shining and Other Paths: War and Society in Peru, 1980–1995.     

Book Reviews

Books reviewed in this issue. Manuel Alcántara Sáez, ed., Politicians and Politics in Latin America. Stephan Haggard and Robert R. Kaufman, Development, Democracy, and Welfare States: Latin America, East Asia, and Eastern Europe. Gerardo L. Munck, ed., Regimes and Democracy in Latin America: Theories and Methods. Shawn Smallman, The AIDS Pandemic in Latin America. Alexander I. Gray and Antoni Kapcia, eds., The Changing Dynamic of Cuban Civil Society. Shannon Speed, Rights in Rebellion: Indigenous Struggle and Human Rights in Chiapas.