Emergency Propaganda: The Winning of Malayan Hearts and Minds 1948-1958

ISBN-13: 9780700715107 / Angielski / Twarda / 2001 / 304 str.

Kumar Ramakrishna;Kumar Ramakrishna

Opis

Despite the existence of numerous analyses of the eventual British success in the Malayan Emergency, the contribution of propaganda to the defeat of the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) has never been exhaustively scrutinized. This book fills the gap in the literature and sheds new light on the hitherto neglected years of the Emergency - 1955 to 1958 - demonstrating how it was British propaganda which decisively ended the shooting war in December 1958. Essentially, the book argues for a concept of propaganda that embraces not merely words in the form of film, radio and leaflets but also deeds such as the behaviour of Government representatives and certain official policies. It argues that for propaganda to be effective, the message transmitted by the propagandists's words must be congruent with that suggested by his actual deeds.

Sheds new light on the hitherto neglected years of the Emergency (1955-58) demonstrating how it was British propaganda which decisively ended the shooting war in December 1958. The study argues for a concept of 'propaganda' that embraces not merely 'words' in the form of film, radio and leaflets but also 'deeds'.

Recenzje

'Kumar is able - in an outstandingly well-researched, well-argued and well-structured book - to offer a persuasive critique of the conventional perspective ... the book is required reading for historians of Malaya and for those whose task is to counter insurgents, guerillas and terrorists.' - The International History Review

'This painstakingly researched study of propoganda in the Malayan Emergency (1948-1960) should be of interest to historians of insurgency in general as well as of propoganda. It is admirable not only for its range, and its richly textured use of sources, but also for its conceptualisation of propoganda.' - Southeast Asian Studies

Spis treści

Chapter 1 Propaganda in the Malayan Emergency; Chapter 2 The Malayan Communist Part y and its Impact on Terrorist and Rural Chinese Confidence; Chapter 3 Propaganda in Disarray; Chapter 4 Propaganda on the Mend; Chapter 5 Propaganda Turning Point; Chapter 6 Propaganda Most Optimal;

O autorze

Kumar Ramakrishna is Assistant Professor at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.