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Nations Ascendant: The Global Campaign against Empire and the Making of Our World

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Zaib un Nisa Aziz is Assistant Professor in the History of Modern British Empire in at the University of South Florida, Tampa. Her first book Nations Ascendant: The Global Campaign against Empire and the Making of Our World, (under contract with Yale University Press),tells the story of an international movement against imperialism. Focusing on global networks that appeared during the interwar years, this book chronicles the rise of a radical new generation of political workers across the colonial world who saw the Bolshevik Revolution as a transformative and epochal shift in world history, one which created the prospect of a world without empires. By examining their global discourse, the book shows how universal self-determination not only became the aim of national movements but counter-intuitively also the objective for radical internationalism.

Image courtesy of interviewee. August 10, 2024

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This video discusses a book that explores the interconnectedness of global decolonization and international socialism, particularly in the early 20th century. It critiques traditional national histories that treat decolonization as isolated events and emphasizes the need for a global historical perspective that recognizes the relationships between empires and their colonies. The author argues that the end of European empires, particularly after World War I, was driven by anti-imperialist sentiments and the rise of international socialist movements, which were inspired by revolutionary ideals.

The book aims to fill a gap in scholarship by presenting a history that connects these movements to the early 20th century, highlighting how decolonization was not only a consequence of the Second World War but also linked to earlier struggles and intellectual exchanges. It emphasizes the role of activists and thinkers from colonized regions who engaged with socialist movements, striving for both national liberation and social transformation.

This video also discusses the evolution of political consciousness among colonial subjects, noting a shift towards more radical anti-colonial perspectives that recognized the need not just for independence from foreign rule, but a fundamental transformation of the economic order. It proposes that nationalism should be re-evaluated not merely as a reactionary force but as a potential tool for radical left movements seeking liberation.

Overall, the book seeks to recontextualize the history of nationalism and anti-colonialism, arguing for a more nuanced understanding that recognizes the intellectual contributions and interconnected struggles of those in the global south.

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Here are five key points from the video:

1. **Global Perspective on Decolonization**: The book emphasizes the need to understand decolonization as a global historical event rather than purely a series of national narratives. It aims to connect the practices of different empires and their colonies, particularly focusing on the early 20th century.

2. **Historical Convideo of International Socialism**: It reveals the interconnectedness of international socialism and global decolonization efforts, arguing that this relationship extends back to the chaos following World War I, rather than starting solely with the post-World War II era.

3. **Intellectual Contributions of Anti-Colonial Movements**: The video stresses that anti-colonial activists were not only revolutionaries but also intellectuals who engaged in significant writing and debate. The book seeks to highlight the rich intellectual history that emerged from these movements, particularly in the convideo of the British Empire.

4. **The Role of the Bolshevik Revolution**: The book discusses how the Bolshevik Revolution was perceived as a pivotal event that inspired anti-colonial movements worldwide, serving as a model for liberation and shaping the discourse of these movements across various nations.

5. **Reimagining Nationalism**: The video argues for a re-examination of nationalism as a potential tool for liberation rather than just a source of conflict or violence. It suggests that nationalism can be aligned with the ideals of social progress and that the intellectuals of the global south played crucial roles in imagining and advocating for a more inclusive form of liberation, thus influencing both nationalism and international socialism.

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Here are some key quotes from the video that encapsulate its main themes and arguments concerning decolonization, international socialism, and the interconnectedness of anti-colonial movements:

1. **On the Purpose of the Book:**
- "This book comes out of, uh, as a response to recent scholarly provocations to think about decolonization in global rather than terms."

2. **Global Impact of Decolonization:**
- "It has long been acknowledged by scholars that the end of empires, uh, European empires, particularly in the 20th century, was one of the most important world historical events."

3. **Interconnectedness of Decolonization:**
- "This book proposes to fill this liberal law by presenting a history of decolonization practice in the c, particularly in the early 20th century, uh, one that is connected."

4. **Roots of Anti-Colonial Discourse:**
- "Rather than focusing on the 1950s and sixties, it shows that the roots of this discourse and indeed this relationship go through a much earlier period... in the enduring chaos of the first [World War]."

5. **Anti-Imperialism’s Role:**
- "Part of the reason that Imperial statesmen believed the order of the previous century to be in need of such reformation was the presence of an expansion of anti-imperialism."

6. **Intellectual Contributions of Anti-Colonial Leaders:**
- "I show that anti-colonialists were also readers, writers, they were thinkers, uh, as well as revolutionaries."

7. **Connecting Nationalism and Internationalism:**
- "Many people across the world are invested in each other's liberation. Nationalism is not seen as the anti of internationalism... but rather as a part of it."

8. **Global Solidarity:**
- "I cannot understand [the history of third world solidarity] without going back to this earlier period to see where this sense of global anti-colonialism originated."

9. **National Consciousness vs. Colonial Oppression:**
- "The demand ... that the end of the empire cannot just mean the end of foreign rule. It also has to mean a transformation of the economic order."

10. **Rethinking Nationalism:**
- "The book invites us to rethink interpretations of nationalism and see why and how it could be a tool and a project of the radical left rather than, um, the extreme right."

These quotes reflect the central arguments of the video, which emphasizes the historical significance of decolonization as interconnected with socialist movements, the intellectual contributions of anti-colonial figures, and the need to rethink nationalism in the convideo of global liberation.

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Here are some articles and videos that share similar themes and ideas to the one you've :

1. **"The Wretched of the Earth" by Frantz Fanon** - This seminal work analyzes the psychological effects of colonization and the process of decolonization, emphasizing the importance of revolutionary change and the role of violence in achieving liberation. Fanon discusses the interconnectedness of national liberation and social justice.

2. **"Empire and Revolution: The Political Life of L.R. James" by C. L. R. James** - This biography highlights James's contributions to Marxist thought while living in colonial Trinidad. It explores the connections between anti-colonial movements and socialist ideologies, echoing the themes of interconnected struggles.

3. **"Decolonization: A Short History" by Jan C. Jansen and Jürgen Osterhammel** - This book provides a concise overview of the decolonization process around the world, examining the interplay between local struggles and global political ideologies, including socialism and anti-imperialism.

4. **"The Global Cold War: Third World Interventions and the Making of Our Times" by Odd Arne Westad** - This work looks at the Cold War through the lens of third-world countries, demonstrating how decolonization and international socialism were entangled in global conflicts and ideological battles.

5. **"Colonialism/Postcolonialism" by Anne McClintock** - This video critically examines the impact of colonial histories on modern political movements, including the relationship between national identity, decolonization, and leftist ideologies.

6. **"The Darker Nations: A People's History of the Third World" by Vijay Prashad** - This book charts the history of the Non-Aligned Movement and how anti-colonial struggles were linked to broader socialist aspirations, advocating for a global perspective on these interconnected movements.

7. **"Nationalism and the State" by James D. Fearon and David D. Laitin** - This academic article investigates the role of nationalism in decolonization and proposes a framework for understanding the motivations and methodologies of national liberation movements in a global convideo.

These videos can help deepen your understanding of the connections between decolonization, nationalism, and international socialism, as well as the historical convideo that shaped these movements.

X-TIMESTAMP-MAP:LOCAL=00:00:00.000,MPEGTS=900000

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This book comes out of, as a response to

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recent scholarly provocations to think about decolonization

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in global rather than terms.

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So it has long been acknowledged by scholars that the end

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of empires, European empires,

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particularly in the 20th century, was one

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of the most important world historical events.

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And of course, for decades we've had compendiums

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of national histories,

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but they have been relatively pure accounts that deal

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with decolonization as a global event

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that is interconnected, between

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and amongst empires as well as their colonies.

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So this book proposes to fill this liberal law

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by presenting a history of de practice in the c,

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particularly in the early 20th century,

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one that is connected.

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The second interest in writing this book comes from a,

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from my interest in relationship

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between international socialism

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and global decolonization to events that

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transformed the century

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and as thele of the remade and made.

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As we know today, this relationship is largely considered

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to be important for the, the war.

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And indeed, many scholars have written on it,

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and there is increasing interest today

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regarding the scholarship.

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But in nations, ascendant takes a slightly different

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approach, rather than focusing on the 1950s

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and sixties, it goes on

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and shows that the roots of this discourse

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and indeed this relationship goes

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through a much earlier period,

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and this roots lie not in the rubble

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of the Second World War,

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but in the enduring chaos of the first.

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So these were the primary motivations of writing this book

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that rethinks

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and centers the interconnected relationship

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between international socialism

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and, a global movement against imperialism.

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One of the things that has come to us through scholarship

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and international global history particularly, is

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the realization that in

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that the international world order really went

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through a transformation in the Arab.

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After the First World War, scholars have shown

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that statesmen like Ru Smart were

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invested in transforming the, the order

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of the 19th century post the first World War.

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They've also shown that their imaginations

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and articulations of that order be it in

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certain points, rather, the piece of Si

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or the League of Nations, had all sorts of consequences

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intended many of the colon,

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Um, the, the, the architects had initially intended,

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however, implicit in those quests, these, these,

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the scholarship is another question, which is

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that why did the statesmen believe the order

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of the previous century to be in such desperate need

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of transformation?

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And indeed, the Reformation Reformation Nation descendant

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argues that part of the reason

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that Imperial statesmen believed the order

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of the previous century to be in need of such reformation

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was the presence of an expansion of anti imperialism,

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indeed, the internationalization of antitheism

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with ala Lenin

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and party with all the Russia,

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they announced the dawn of a new era,

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one in which the empires of the world would fall

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and there would be liberation across the world for Europe

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as well as for the colon of the world.

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This created, the basis of the internationalization of

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traces, and this was one of the reasons I show

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that led to a lot of anxiety amongst statesmen,

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both within, within the colonies as well as in the metropol.

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This led to great anxiety in among colonial centers

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as well as the colonies,

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and led many statesmen such as Wilson and others who realize

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and forced them to imagine new ways,

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because they knew that the legitimating language of empires,

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of the previous century would no longer hold In the new

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a second group, of scholarship that this book

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is a dialogue with is histories of, revolution

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and global histories on, anti-colonialism.

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But one of the things that often happens is we, in,

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in this literature is a focus rightly so

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on the revolutionary lives of the figures, and the,

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and the development

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and the activities in the kind of political underground.

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While this book also does that, I also showed

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that anti colonialists were also readers, writers,

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they were thinkers, as well as revolutionaries.

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And that leads me to one of the main aims of the book is

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to present a global intellectual history,

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and it shows how colonialists from across the world,

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but particularly the British Empire South Asia, debated

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ideas, as an intellectual.

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And I wanna focus on this period as not only a period

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of great political activity,

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but also a period of high production,

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of intellectual thought ideas

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with circulated across the empire

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and beyond the First World War takes place on the war.

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Many people, many colonial actors,

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politicians in the colonial world, India, believe

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that participation in the war would grant them greater

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leverage, so that

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after the world, they would have greater observation

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and greater representation,

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or a route to dominion status attend to Canada

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or Australia, a more representative

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role in the empire's future.

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Now, in radical quarters across the colonial world,

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particularly in India, many people were circum

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of this belief

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and kept pointing that the empire would never,

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really include the colonized in any meaningful fashion

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by the end of the first World War.

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These skeptics were proven right, when not only did Britain

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as well as France expand their empires,

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but also tenaciously held on

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and even more violently held on to the,

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they already had this.

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So this ended the belief in,

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or started at least erasing the belief in the liberal

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promise of empire.

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On the other end, I also thought that

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you have in Russia the presence of this,

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the success of this romanist revolution.

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Now, in many parts of this geography, rightly so

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and understandably, we see the Soviet Union's birth

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as a start of the European history, the,

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the Europe red century, the rest of Europe, red century,

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or as relatedly as a start of the global war

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by both those approaches are correct in some ways.

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We, I showed that if, for the colonial world, looking at it

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for whether it's Delhi or or

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or Mexico City, the success of the

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revolution was really the success of an anti-colonial

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mass revolution.

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The end of his empire, in other words,

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created this precedent

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and for the colonize of the world, many of them who saw this

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as a rupture, as a moment of possibility

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and saw in the success of possibility of new world.

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This is, a key part of, the argument

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that the book takes on.

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The second thing is about

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how the Bolsheviks themselves represented, themselves

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as the ba not of an international revolution.

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That revolution was more just international when it came

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to Europe, but they were very clear from the beginning

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that this was a, this was to end not only

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the forest empire within historic pr,

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but that they also stood for the rights of the,

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what they were called the oppressed nations, the nations,

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or whether it's India, Morocco, China.

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And I showed that there was great interest

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and then writing about these things before the war

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and continues to do so

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after this, again, had great valence

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for the more radical elements

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or in, in colonies like India, many of whom literally

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and metaphorically turned to Moscow.

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I show how many of them went there, stayed in touch

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with them, received help from them.

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Moscow, in other words, became a strategic,

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support center as well as a symbolic signpost

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for many anti-colonial legislators to start connecting.

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This then becomes the, it becomes the sort of fulcrum for

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what I call this imagined community,

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because it is in Moscow that they do not just relate to

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MobX ideas, but they also relate to each other.

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For example, in India,

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people are not just writing about the Indian national

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movement, but are also writing about what's happening in

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Iran, what's happening in Egypt, what's happening later in,

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in China, and later, still in, in Ethiopia.

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The same thing in Egypt where people,

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they're writing in increasingly northwest about

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the Egyptian national movement,

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but also about workers movements,

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not only in the Middle East or North Africa,

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but also in Europe, and see,

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and really arguing that the relationship between

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the oppression of the aria or workers in Europe

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and the oppression of masses in the colonial

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world are indeed related.

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So in some ways,

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the Bo Revolution provides this language of universality,

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which connects various national movements to each other.

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And the, the question, the colonial question to the question

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of revolution in Europe, it's worth noting, for example,

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that the second international, did not really consider

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national movements as particularly important.

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Many socialists continue to believe that that was either

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relevant or,

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or even said believe that there was some sort

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of tutelage in a socialist world that was still required

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for the global south or the colonized world.

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But it is Len

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and his third international that really breaks that

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and then makes the liberation of the colonized the key part

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of the, international policy.

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And it's, while this book isn't about the institution

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of the Communist international, I showed that that's,

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that stance really resonated with a lot of Marxist

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in the global south that then also ran

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and radicalized national movement

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because these national movements, a connected

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with different parts of the world, as I said,

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but also then turned their critiques on their own national

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liberal, liberal elite, such as, who were very close

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to the colonial, governments

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and were seeking greater representation.

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Increasingly, the t is what begins to happen

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as a consequence of the proliferation of this discourse,

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that people demand that the end

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of the empire cannot just mean the end of foreign rule.

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It also has to mean a transformation of the economic order,

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because why we see that the question

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of economic liberation is so central in the global south

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and in colonial world throughout the 20th century.

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And until today, books aim as an intellectual space

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to trace really the genesis

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and also the dissemination of these ideas.

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So many of these ideas were of course, in, in the world,

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the various ations

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and configurations right from the mid, mid

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to the late 19th century.

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But, the arrival on state of the power

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that was very much invested in that helps

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and speeds up this proliferation

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that various intellectuals from various parts

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of the world start connecting, writing on debating,

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and the lessons of the B Revolution at the same time,

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the workforce, how these ideas,

13:16.275 --> 13:18.725
this is not just a book about intellectuals and writers,

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but it also features workers, shopkeepers, books, sellers,

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and all sorts of figures

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who really created the, the underground.

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And one of the key arguments of the book is to show

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that this is where the international really resided,

13:34.985 --> 13:38.565
not just in the halls of power in or even in Moscow,

13:38.945 --> 13:43.525
but in underground white meetings, in trade unions,

13:43.945 --> 13:45.365
even in prison cells.

13:45.975 --> 13:48.515
Uh, this is where this,

13:48.825 --> 13:51.755
what I'm calling this global community,

13:51.755 --> 13:52.995
really starts forming.

13:53.735 --> 13:55.195
And the great importance

13:55.195 --> 13:58.115
of the communist international here is not necessarily

13:58.115 --> 14:00.915
that it was able to fill, fulfill its own intended names,

14:01.335 --> 14:05.525
but that it, created,

14:05.785 --> 14:08.485
and supported, this proliferation

14:08.905 --> 14:10.645
as the circulation starts growing.

14:10.655 --> 14:13.925
There are two types of consciousness that, grow

14:13.925 --> 14:16.205
amongst the, the colonized.

14:16.745 --> 14:18.125
One is a natural consciousness.

14:18.585 --> 14:21.165
By that there, I mean that,

14:21.855 --> 14:25.085
there is increasing realizations, especially

14:25.185 --> 14:28.125
by the mid late twenties, that,

14:28.465 --> 14:31.085
the empire will not logically end themselves,

14:31.705 --> 14:35.045
as was the promise of 19th century civilization idea

14:35.515 --> 14:39.285
that once the colonized, reach a certain threshold

14:39.305 --> 14:41.885
of civilization and their time of

14:51.225 --> 14:55.255
Would change, evolve, and become intrinsically liberal,

14:55.875 --> 14:57.575
and citizenship would be granted

14:57.955 --> 14:59.935
to really everybody in the same way.

15:00.755 --> 15:04.375
Now by the 20, that that is this, it is going away.

15:04.405 --> 15:06.695
Part of this is because of the fact

15:06.695 --> 15:10.175
that their empires are increasingly very, very,

15:10.245 --> 15:11.615
very harsh,

15:11.835 --> 15:14.415
in suppressing all sorts of political activity.

15:14.645 --> 15:18.175
This is true in India, in Egypt, British empire,

15:18.595 --> 15:21.735
and also as much true in the French and Dutch, colonies.

15:21.845 --> 15:26.695
Also. This in turn, creates this northern and Marxists,

15:26.875 --> 15:28.215
and communists

15:28.315 --> 15:32.575
and socialists are for this, that the national parties

15:33.125 --> 15:34.735
have to take a more radical stance.

15:35.155 --> 15:37.055
And it's, as these ideas spread

15:37.055 --> 15:39.455
and take on more currency among students,

15:39.565 --> 15:41.215
amongst the new gener of workers

15:41.635 --> 15:46.615
or, workers, intellectuals, and or in, in Piti Bois

15:46.835 --> 15:50.655
and Arias, the national parties are forced almost

15:50.995 --> 15:52.295
to take a more radical stance.

15:52.315 --> 15:55.495
And so that, for example, in India's case by 1948, it's,

15:55.525 --> 15:58.895
it's, it's, it's clear that,

15:59.155 --> 16:00.175
and Congress announces

16:00.175 --> 16:02.575
that it'll want a complete self-examination.

16:02.915 --> 16:05.775
And that is a turning point in the history of,

16:06.235 --> 16:07.535
antitheism.

16:08.295 --> 16:10.815
A second kind of inter, consciousness

16:10.815 --> 16:13.775
that starts growing is international consciousness, which is

16:13.775 --> 16:16.175
that nationalism is not seen as the anti

16:16.395 --> 16:19.495
of internationalism, not the opposite or of it,

16:19.675 --> 16:22.495
but rather as a part of it, so that,

16:23.485 --> 16:26.295
many people across the world are invested

16:26.295 --> 16:27.415
in each other's liberation.

16:28.195 --> 16:30.215
So the, for example,

16:30.445 --> 16:33.935
when the second World War is on the horizon,

16:33.995 --> 16:35.135
the Congress announces

16:35.135 --> 16:38.895
that it'll not participate in the second world war in the

16:39.175 --> 16:40.455
upcoming war, not only

16:40.455 --> 16:43.295
because of what is happening within India, but also

16:43.295 --> 16:44.735
because of what's happening

16:44.835 --> 16:47.295
and has happened in China, in Southeast Asia,

16:47.435 --> 16:48.535
in another parts of the world.

16:49.435 --> 16:52.055
So this, this,

16:52.555 --> 16:55.895
and of course we know that in the

16:56.925 --> 17:00.465
latter half of the regular century, there is a long history

17:00.465 --> 17:04.025
of third world solidarity, but we cannot understand that

17:04.125 --> 17:06.425
and cannot understand its contents until,

17:06.485 --> 17:08.585
unless we go back to this earlier period to see

17:08.595 --> 17:12.705
where this sense of, global anti-colonialism

17:13.245 --> 17:18.025
and a global, universalization of, the right

17:18.045 --> 17:19.065
to self-determination.

17:19.685 --> 17:22.145
Um, where, where do those ideas originate?

17:22.405 --> 17:27.065
We see nationalism in with great skepticism for good reason.

17:27.565 --> 17:29.345
We consider it a reactionary force.

17:29.925 --> 17:31.785
And because we've seen it,

17:32.205 --> 17:33.745
in the global south particularly,

17:34.085 --> 17:35.905
and now increasingly in Europe, as well

17:35.905 --> 17:37.425
as in the United States being a source

17:37.805 --> 17:40.025
of great violence, violent ideas.

17:40.245 --> 17:44.075
And, but the question then remains is

17:44.075 --> 17:45.435
it millions?

17:48.805 --> 17:49.925
Liberation? Liberation

17:49.925 --> 17:53.445
and many in the world, still do Those were occupied,

17:53.595 --> 17:55.165
colonized, and subjugated.

17:55.425 --> 17:59.445
The book invites us to rethink interpretations

17:59.445 --> 18:04.285
of nationalism and see why and how it could be a tool

18:04.585 --> 18:08.485
and a project of the radical left rather than,

18:09.065 --> 18:10.565
the extreme right.

18:11.145 --> 18:13.885
It asks us to rethink the calibrations

18:13.885 --> 18:16.925
of national consciousness, and connect it

18:16.985 --> 18:19.525
and see how intellectuals in the past connected it

18:20.075 --> 18:23.645
with ideas of social progress, of economic revolution,

18:24.265 --> 18:27.165
of universal FraNChiS within their own domains,

18:27.265 --> 18:28.365
as well as in the other.

18:28.785 --> 18:31.645
One of the aims of the book is to show that intellectuals

18:31.645 --> 18:35.405
of the global south are the ones imagining a world

18:36.065 --> 18:37.565
of total liberation

18:37.625 --> 18:41.885
and realizing the ideals of the enlightenment,

18:42.295 --> 18:45.515
which promised universal freedom,

18:46.175 --> 18:47.435
but often compromised

18:47.495 --> 18:50.315
and ended that promise when it came to the colonial world,

18:50.365 --> 18:53.465
which is the majority of the world in this book,

18:54.785 --> 18:57.305
national consciousness and Not the right to self,

18:57.585 --> 19:00.505
national Self determination is shown, not just to be one

19:00.535 --> 19:04.265
that was championed by national leaders, leaders,

19:04.265 --> 19:06.905
the founder, intuitively also by radical internationalists,

19:07.375 --> 19:10.545
thereby transforming both international socialism,

19:11.045 --> 19:14.585
but also, the pursuit of nationalism itself.

19:15.465 --> 19:19.755
This, creates all sorts of opportunities for us

19:19.855 --> 19:22.155
to rethink the history of nationalism,

19:22.935 --> 19:25.235
and particularly the intellectual history of nationalism

19:25.335 --> 19:28.115
as stole from the viewpoint of the colonized.

00:00 - This book comes out of, as a response to recent scholarly provocations to think about decolonization in global rather than terms. So it has long been acknowledged by scholars that the end of empires, European empires, particularly in the 20th century, was one

00:20 - of the most important world historical events. And of course, for decades we've had compendiums of national histories, but they have been relatively pure accounts that deal with decolonization as a global event that is interconnected, between and amongst empires as well as their colonies. So this book proposes to fill this liberal law by presenting a history of de practice in the c, particularly in the early 20th century,

00:52 - one that is connected. The second interest in writing this book comes from a, from my interest in relationship between international socialism and global decolonization to events that transformed the century and as thele of the remade and made. As we know today, this relationship is largely considered to be important for the, the war. And indeed, many scholars have written on it,

01:23 - and there is increasing interest today regarding the scholarship. But in nations, ascendant takes a slightly different approach, rather than focusing on the 1950s and sixties, it goes on and shows that the roots of this discourse and indeed this relationship goes through a much earlier period, and this roots lie not in the rubble of the Second World War,

01:44 - but in the enduring chaos of the first. So these were the primary motivations of writing this book that rethinks and centers the interconnected relationship between international socialism and, a global movement against imperialism. One of the things that has come to us through scholarship and international global history particularly, is the realization that in that the international world order really went

02:15 - through a transformation in the Arab. After the First World War, scholars have shown that statesmen like Ru Smart were invested in transforming the, the order of the 19th century post the first World War. They've also shown that their imaginations and articulations of that order be it in certain points, rather, the piece of Si or the League of Nations, had all sorts of consequences intended many of the colon,

02:59 - the, the, the architects had initially intended, however, implicit in those quests, these, these, the scholarship is another question, which is that why did the statesmen believe the order of the previous century to be in such desperate need of transformation? And indeed, the Reformation Reformation Nation descendant argues that part of the reason that Imperial statesmen believed the order of the previous century to be in need of such reformation

03:31 - was the presence of an expansion of anti imperialism, indeed, the internationalization of antitheism with ala Lenin and party with all the Russia, they announced the dawn of a new era, one in which the empires of the world would fall and there would be liberation across the world for Europe as well as for the colon of the world. This created, the basis of the internationalization of traces, and this was one of the reasons I show

04:09 - that led to a lot of anxiety amongst statesmen, both within, within the colonies as well as in the metropol. This led to great anxiety in among colonial centers as well as the colonies, and led many statesmen such as Wilson and others who realize and forced them to imagine new ways, because they knew that the legitimating language of empires, of the previous century would no longer hold In the new a second group, of scholarship that this book is a dialogue with is histories of, revolution

04:51 - and global histories on, anti-colonialism. But one of the things that often happens is we, in, in this literature is a focus rightly so on the revolutionary lives of the figures, and the, and the development and the activities in the kind of political underground. While this book also does that, I also showed that anti colonialists were also readers, writers, they were thinkers, as well as revolutionaries. And that leads me to one of the main aims of the book is

05:31 - to present a global intellectual history, and it shows how colonialists from across the world, but particularly the British Empire South Asia, debated ideas, as an intellectual. And I wanna focus on this period as not only a period of great political activity, but also a period of high production, of intellectual thought ideas with circulated across the empire and beyond the First World War takes place on the war.

06:01 - Many people, many colonial actors, politicians in the colonial world, India, believe that participation in the war would grant them greater leverage, so that after the world, they would have greater observation and greater representation, or a route to dominion status attend to Canada or Australia, a more representative role in the empire's future. Now, in radical quarters across the colonial world,

06:34 - particularly in India, many people were circum of this belief and kept pointing that the empire would never, really include the colonized in any meaningful fashion by the end of the first World War. These skeptics were proven right, when not only did Britain as well as France expand their empires, but also tenaciously held on and even more violently held on to the, they already had this.

07:03 - So this ended the belief in, or started at least erasing the belief in the liberal promise of empire. On the other end, I also thought that you have in Russia the presence of this, the success of this romanist revolution. Now, in many parts of this geography, rightly so and understandably, we see the Soviet Union's birth as a start of the European history, the, the Europe red century, the rest of Europe, red century,

07:40 - or as relatedly as a start of the global war by both those approaches are correct in some ways. We, I showed that if, for the colonial world, looking at it for whether it's Delhi or or or Mexico City, the success of the revolution was really the success of an anti-colonial mass revolution. The end of his empire, in other words, created this precedent and for the colonize of the world, many of them who saw this

08:13 - as a rupture, as a moment of possibility and saw in the success of possibility of new world. This is, a key part of, the argument that the book takes on. The second thing is about how the Bolsheviks themselves represented, themselves as the ba not of an international revolution. That revolution was more just international when it came to Europe, but they were very clear from the beginning that this was a, this was to end not only

08:47 - the forest empire within historic pr, but that they also stood for the rights of the, what they were called the oppressed nations, the nations, or whether it's India, Morocco, China. And I showed that there was great interest and then writing about these things before the war and continues to do so after this, again, had great valence for the more radical elements or in, in colonies like India, many of whom literally

09:15 - and metaphorically turned to Moscow. I show how many of them went there, stayed in touch with them, received help from them. Moscow, in other words, became a strategic, support center as well as a symbolic signpost for many anti-colonial legislators to start connecting. This then becomes the, it becomes the sort of fulcrum for what I call this imagined community, because it is in Moscow that they do not just relate to MobX ideas, but they also relate to each other.

09:47 - For example, in India, people are not just writing about the Indian national movement, but are also writing about what's happening in Iran, what's happening in Egypt, what's happening later in, in China, and later, still in, in Ethiopia. The same thing in Egypt where people, they're writing in increasingly northwest about the Egyptian national movement, but also about workers movements, not only in the Middle East or North Africa,

10:15 - but also in Europe, and see, and really arguing that the relationship between the oppression of the aria or workers in Europe and the oppression of masses in the colonial world are indeed related. So in some ways, the Bo Revolution provides this language of universality, which connects various national movements to each other. And the, the question, the colonial question to the question of revolution in Europe, it's worth noting, for example,

10:48 - that the second international, did not really consider national movements as particularly important. Many socialists continue to believe that that was either relevant or, or even said believe that there was some sort of tutelage in a socialist world that was still required for the global south or the colonized world. But it is Len and his third international that really breaks that and then makes the liberation of the colonized the key part

11:22 - of the, international policy. And it's, while this book isn't about the institution of the Communist international, I showed that that's, that stance really resonated with a lot of Marxist in the global south that then also ran and radicalized national movement because these national movements, a connected with different parts of the world, as I said, but also then turned their critiques on their own national liberal, liberal elite, such as, who were very close

11:56 - to the colonial, governments and were seeking greater representation. Increasingly, the t is what begins to happen as a consequence of the proliferation of this discourse, that people demand that the end of the empire cannot just mean the end of foreign rule. It also has to mean a transformation of the economic order, because why we see that the question of economic liberation is so central in the global south and in colonial world throughout the 20th century.

12:31 - And until today, books aim as an intellectual space to trace really the genesis and also the dissemination of these ideas. So many of these ideas were of course, in, in the world, the various ations and configurations right from the mid, mid to the late 19th century. But, the arrival on state of the power that was very much invested in that helps and speeds up this proliferation

13:00 - that various intellectuals from various parts of the world start connecting, writing on debating, and the lessons of the B Revolution at the same time, the workforce, how these ideas, this is not just a book about intellectuals and writers, but it also features workers, shopkeepers, books, sellers, and all sorts of figures who really created the, the underground. And one of the key arguments of the book is to show that this is where the international really resided,

13:34 - not just in the halls of power in or even in Moscow, but in underground white meetings, in trade unions, even in prison cells. this is where this, what I'm calling this global community, really starts forming. And the great importance of the communist international here is not necessarily that it was able to fill, fulfill its own intended names, but that it, created,

14:05 - and supported, this proliferation as the circulation starts growing. There are two types of consciousness that, grow amongst the, the colonized. One is a natural consciousness. By that there, I mean that, there is increasing realizations, especially by the mid late twenties, that, the empire will not logically end themselves, as was the promise of 19th century civilization idea

14:35 - that once the colonized, reach a certain threshold of civilization and their time of Would change, evolve, and become intrinsically liberal, and citizenship would be granted to really everybody in the same way. Now by the 20, that that is this, it is going away. Part of this is because of the fact that their empires are increasingly very, very, very harsh, in suppressing all sorts of political activity.

15:14 - This is true in India, in Egypt, British empire, and also as much true in the French and Dutch, colonies. Also. This in turn, creates this northern and Marxists, and communists and socialists are for this, that the national parties have to take a more radical stance. And it's, as these ideas spread and take on more currency among students, amongst the new gener of workers or, workers, intellectuals, and or in, in Piti Bois

15:46 - and Arias, the national parties are forced almost to take a more radical stance. And so that, for example, in India's case by 1948, it's, it's, it's, it's clear that, and Congress announces that it'll want a complete self-examination. And that is a turning point in the history of, antitheism. A second kind of inter, consciousness that starts growing is international consciousness, which is

16:13 - that nationalism is not seen as the anti of internationalism, not the opposite or of it, but rather as a part of it, so that, many people across the world are invested in each other's liberation. So the, for example, when the second World War is on the horizon, the Congress announces that it'll not participate in the second world war in the upcoming war, not only

16:40 - because of what is happening within India, but also because of what's happening and has happened in China, in Southeast Asia, in another parts of the world. So this, this, and of course we know that in the latter half of the regular century, there is a long history of third world solidarity, but we cannot understand that and cannot understand its contents until, unless we go back to this earlier period to see

17:08 - where this sense of, global anti-colonialism and a global, universalization of, the right to self-determination. where, where do those ideas originate? We see nationalism in with great skepticism for good reason. We consider it a reactionary force. And because we've seen it, in the global south particularly, and now increasingly in Europe, as well as in the United States being a source

17:37 - of great violence, violent ideas. And, but the question then remains is it millions? Liberation? Liberation and many in the world, still do Those were occupied, colonized, and subjugated. The book invites us to rethink interpretations of nationalism and see why and how it could be a tool and a project of the radical left rather than, the extreme right.

18:11 - It asks us to rethink the calibrations of national consciousness, and connect it and see how intellectuals in the past connected it with ideas of social progress, of economic revolution, of universal FraNChiS within their own domains, as well as in the other. One of the aims of the book is to show that intellectuals of the global south are the ones imagining a world of total liberation and realizing the ideals of the enlightenment,

18:42 - which promised universal freedom, but often compromised and ended that promise when it came to the colonial world, which is the majority of the world in this book, national consciousness and Not the right to self, national Self determination is shown, not just to be one that was championed by national leaders, leaders, the founder, intuitively also by radical internationalists, thereby transforming both international socialism, but also, the pursuit of nationalism itself.

19:15 - This, creates all sorts of opportunities for us to rethink the history of nationalism, and particularly the intellectual history of nationalism as stole from the viewpoint of the colonized.

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