Policing Transnational Protest

Liberal Imperialism and the Surveillance of Anticolonialists in Europe, 1905-1945

Author Daniel Brückenhaus

Argues that the growing level of government surveillance in western Europe during the first half of the twentieth century was a central, underappreciated factor in the transnationalization of anticolonial movements.
Explores the pre-history of recent debates about current-day transnational government surveillance and its effects on civil liberties.
The first study to systematically examine and integrate archival sources on colonial surveillance in Europe from Britain, France, and Germany.
Highlights the importance of Germany for the creation of both pro- and anticolonial transnational networks in the first half of the twentieth century.

Policing Transnational Protest

Liberal Imperialism and the Surveillance of Anticolonialists in Europe, 1905-1945

Author Daniel Brückenhaus

Description

Policing Transnational Protest offers an original perspective on the history of police surveillance of anticolonial activists in France, Britain, and Germany in the first half of the twentieth century. Tracing the undertakings of anticolonial activists from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East in Europe and reconstructing the reaction of European governments, it illuminates the increasing cooperation of the police and secret services to monitor the activities of the "oriental revolutionaries" and curb their room to maneuver. But those efforts had an unintended inflammatory effect, provoking both supporters and opponents of colonial rule to understand the conflict in increasingly global and trans-imperial terms. The surveillance also exacerbated tensions between Europeans friendly to the anticolonial cause, and those who prioritized imperial security over civil liberties and national sovereignty. Tracking growing levels of transnational government cooperation against anticolonialists, this book pays special attention to Germany, where many activists were able to carry out their political work in relative safety after escaping surveillance in Britain and France.

By analyzing the emergence of ever more sophisticated counter-terrorism schemes and surveillance apparatuses, Brückenhaus also contributes a pre-history of similar phenomena characterizing the post-9/11 world. He shows how, then as now, an intensification of a "war on terror" went hand in hand with concerns about encroachments on civil liberties, often expressed in open protest against such governance measures. Policing Transnational Protest informs current debates about intelligence gathering and surveillance in several European countries as well as their new cooperative partner, the United States.

Policing Transnational Protest

Liberal Imperialism and the Surveillance of Anticolonialists in Europe, 1905-1945

Author Daniel Brückenhaus

Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1: The Surveillance of Indian Anticolonialists in Britain, France, and Germany, 1905-1914
Chapter 2: Surveillance under Wartime Conditions and the German-Anticolonialist Alliance, 1914-1918
Chapter 3: The Expansion of the French Colonial Surveillance Network in Western Europe, 1918-1925
Chapter 4: New Alliances Against Anticolonialism? The Scope of British Police Cooperation with French and German Authorities, 1918-1925
Chapter 5: The League Against Imperialism Years, 1926-1933
Chapter 6: Nazi Rule and Transnational Anticolonialism in Western Europe, 1933-1945
Epilogue and Conclusion
Appendix: Some Thoughts on Sources
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Policing Transnational Protest

Liberal Imperialism and the Surveillance of Anticolonialists in Europe, 1905-1945

Author Daniel Brückenhaus

Author Information

Daniel Brückenhaus is Associate Professor of History at Beloit College.

Policing Transnational Protest

Liberal Imperialism and the Surveillance of Anticolonialists in Europe, 1905-1945

Author Daniel Brückenhaus

Reviews and Awards

"Brückenhaus's transnational orientation illuminates important dynamics of anticolonialism and imperial surveillance that would be largely invisible if considered within the framework of a single imperial story... It should thus be of interest to a wide variety of scholars of modern Europe interested in the transnational dimensions of the history of imperialism, anticolonialism, policing, and political culture." -- Elun T. Gabriel, Journal of Modern History

"Brückenhaus constructs an excellent history of anti-colonialism in Europe, using both police documents and correspondence seized by the police."--CHOICE

"Daniel Brückenhaus has given us a gripping account of the cat-and-mouse game between surveillance and anticolonial activists in early twentieth-century Europe. Full of beguiling characters, the book manages to read like a detective story and at the same to redirect the way future scholars will think about the histories of police and of imperialism."--Michael Goebel, Freie Universität Berlin

"Policing Transnational Protest transforms our understanding of transnational anticolonial protest by uncovering the relationship between expanding police networks and the border crossings of anticolonial radicals. An outstanding work of transnational history, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in anticolonial protest or the surveillance regimes that remain such a pervasive force in our age."--Nico Slate, Carnegie Mellon University

"Daniel Brückenhaus' fascinating and empirically well-grounded study provides an original transnational perspective on the endeavors of anticolonial activists in Europe during the first part of the twentieth century and offers a thorough analysis of the reactions they triggered among European governments. While this in itself would be a valuable contribution to historiography, Brückenhaus also deftly uses his exploration of British, French, and German 'counter-insurgency' efforts to elucidate our own post-9/11 experience. Most importantly, he reminds us that a strong emphasis on security produced, and continues to produce, justified unease about the curtailment of civil liberties."--Harald Fischer-Tiné, ETH-Zurich