Taxation was at the core of colonial exercises of governance, state-building and state-society relations. This dissertation analyses taxation in colonial Indonesia between 1870 and 1940. In an era... Show moreTaxation was at the core of colonial exercises of governance, state-building and state-society relations. This dissertation analyses taxation in colonial Indonesia between 1870 and 1940. In an era of continuous expansion and reform, colonial statesmen envisioned a full-fledged tax state of equivalent and just forms of tax-payment in accordance with fair laws, a transparent administration and benevolent governance. They saw taxation as an important tool in the project of constructing a modern empire, ‘disciplining and improving’ its subjects and unifying and reforming the state. However, despite intricate law-making processes, shrewd strategies of data accumulation and registration, and a sophisticated bureaucratic machinery, the colonial state in Indonesia had limited success in realising its ambitions. On the ground, taxation was controlled by local elites and driven by processes of negotiation, mediation and subversion of the state apparatus. Rather than imposing a Western model of taxation on the colony, the resulting system became an amalgam of Dutch and local interests, while the state itself became increasingly mixed with the local structures and practices it was supposed to change and replace. Instead of a force of extraction and reform, taxation provided an arena for contesting the colonial state.Based on extensive archival research and traversing the Indonesian archipelago from Aceh to the Moluccas, this dissertation unveils the diverse administrative realities of colonial Indonesia as created by colonial officials, intermediaries and subjects. By focusing on taxation, it demonstrates how colonial governance was experienced as hybrid and malleable, thereby contributing to broader academic debates about colonial statecraft, fiscal policy and the consequences of colonial rule. Show less
The single-party era in Turkey has been studied through a state-centered approach, preoccupied with the ideological underpinnings and political discourse of the Kemalist elite. Recently, a new... Show moreThe single-party era in Turkey has been studied through a state-centered approach, preoccupied with the ideological underpinnings and political discourse of the Kemalist elite. Recently, a new body of literature, which shifts the focus away from the state and the elites, began to appear. This thesis is a part of and contributes to this literature. It is a study of state-society relations in 1930s Turkey, focusing on the anti-veiling campaigns in the mid-1930s and aiming to understand the ways in which the Kemalist policies were received, interpreted, negotiated, compromised and/or resisted by various actors in the provinces. It presents a detailed trajectory of the debates on and attempts at women’s unveiling in Turkey and contextualizes the anti-veiling campaigns as part of a new phase the Kemalist regime entered in the 1930s. With a strong emphasis on the significance of studying the local, it analyzes the campaigns within the complexities of their local settings and power dynamics, and thus emphasizes the role of the local elites, the resistance of the social actors and women’s agency in the shaping of the anti-veiling campaigns in 1930s Turkey. Show less
This thesis aspires to contribute to the study of change instigated by social engineering projects that were devised and executed by state elites upon targeted populations. Focusing on the Turkish... Show moreThis thesis aspires to contribute to the study of change instigated by social engineering projects that were devised and executed by state elites upon targeted populations. Focusing on the Turkish case of social engineering in the 1930s and 1940s, this thesis studies such a moment of change from a perspective that is alternative to and critical of the ‘modernization’ and ‘dependency’ paradigms. It focuses on the People’s House, an institution the Turkish state established in the 1930 and 40 with the direct aim to introduce the reforms to the population. More specifically, it is a case study of two provincial People’s Houses, their clientele and their activities. Finally, it focuses on three policies of the People’s Houses, i.e. women and villager related activities, and new forms of socialization in contrast to the old coffeehouse type of socialization. This study treats the resistance and accommodation to these p olicies by local social actors as productive for the shaping of new social identities, collective and personal, but also as indicative of the limits of a state that is otherwise considered the sole instigator of social change in the literature of the Turkish Republic. Show less
This work is a close look at the life histories of the top Turkish political leaders with the aim of analyzing changes in gender role and gender identity and tensions between the two in the history... Show moreThis work is a close look at the life histories of the top Turkish political leaders with the aim of analyzing changes in gender role and gender identity and tensions between the two in the history of Turkish modernization vis-à-vis with contemporaneous debates on gender. The main objective is to situate modernization in its theoretical as well as historical context through subjective and private meanings as related to modern coming out of the narratives of the wives. It was argued that Kemalist modernization though created a modern outlook for women framed and sometimes limited their experiences of modernization. As the wives experienced it, the tension reflected itself in the relationship between the gender role performance and the gender identity construction. Additionally, it was argued that, under the attacks of different ideological political currents, Kemalist gender regime has become highly marginalized and except its symbolic power lost much of its power to provide women with a gender identity. Show less
This study analyses the relations between Siam and the League of Nations from 1920 to 1940. It identifies Siam’s policy towards the League as a cornerstone of Siam’s foreign policy and an important... Show moreThis study analyses the relations between Siam and the League of Nations from 1920 to 1940. It identifies Siam’s policy towards the League as a cornerstone of Siam’s foreign policy and an important element of Siam’s domestic modernization during the sixth, seventh and eighth reigns of the Chakri dynasty. In doing so, the study aims at adding a key multilateral dimension to the existing historical analysis of Thai foreign relations during the first half of the twentieth century. It argues that Siam’s League membership played an important role in modernizing the country, reaffirming elite rule and regaining full sovereignty. This study concentrates on the inter-war years and traces Siam’s League membership in the most significant areas of interaction among the wide range of multilateral policy fields. It draws on extensive primary sources which have so far not been studied; the bulk of these files are located at the Thai National Archives in Bangkok and at the League of Nations Archives at the United Nations European Headquarters in Geneva. Show less
