Nations Out of Empires

"Harry Gelber examines centuries of colonial interaction and argues there is a close link between revolution in eighteenth-century Europe and the development of Asian nationalisms from the nineteenth century onwards. During the eighteenth century, Europe developed nation-state ideas and forms of government that produced unprecedented social efficiencies and capacities for moblication. It made industrial, administrative and financial revolutions possible, encouraged technology and made Europe's armies unbeatable. This allowed Europe to dominate Asia but also led to imitation by Asians.". "The author reviews how adoption of European political and administrative forms also encouraged an adoption of its ideologies. Encouraged by a new Western-educated elite, Asia became attracted by liberal principles, including national self-determination and decolonization. The effect was to change the future balance of international power."--BOOK JACKET.

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Nonfiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.