From Empire to Nation; The Rise to Self-Assertion of Asian and African Peoples

Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 1970 Beacon Press, Boston, MA. 1970. Softcover/Trade Wraps. Stated 7th printing. Book is tight, square, and unmarked. Beacon Press BP 141. Book Condition: Very Good; rubbing to panels; old price sticker on the rear panel from the U of Pittsburgh Book Center. No DJ. Printed card stock wraps. Wraps are not bent or folded; spine is not creased or split; text is secure in binding. 466 pp 8vo. One of the twentieth century’s most significant social developments was the emergence of notional self-assertion and independence among the peoples of Asia and Africa where“Natives” were transformed into “nationals” demanding their equal place in a modern world. If Western imperialism has introduced forces of progress into these areas, it should be remembered that one of the characteristic results of progress in the West itself has been the development of national autonomy. To what extent are the emergent national patterns of Asia and Africa derivative and how do they differ from the classical models of Western Europe? A searching investigation is focused upon these differences, resulting in the first full-scale application to Asia and Africa of concepts elaborately worked out for European patterns. The new insights gained from this investigation will help to clarify the relation of nationalism to democracy. Despite the interconnections between nationalism, colonialism, and democracy, the survival of Western democratic patterns under Asian and African conditions is uncertain. The emergence of the new states of Asia and Africa as actors on the world stage, with their own urgent problems, raises a multitude of unfamiliar questions. A clean very presentable copy.