Empires of Vice - The Rise of Opium Prohibition across Southeast Asia (Hardcover)

A history of opium's dramatic fall from favor in colonial Southeast Asia During the late nineteenth century, opium was integral to European colonial rule in Southeast Asia. The taxation of opium was a major source of revenue for British and French colonizers, who also derived moral authority from imposing a tax on a peculiar vice of their non-European subjects. Yet between the 1890s and the 1940s, colonial states began to ban opium, upsetting the very foundations of overseas rule-how did this happen? Empires of Vice traces the history of this dramatic reversal, revealing the colonial legacies that set the stage for the region's drug problems today. Diana Kim challenges the conventional wisdom about opium prohibition-that it came about because doctors awoke to the dangers of drug addiction or that it was a response to moral crusaders-uncovering a more complex story deep within the colonial bureaucracy. Drawing on a wealth of archival evidence across Southeast Asia and Europe, she shows how prohibition was made possible by the pivotal contributions of seemingly weak bureaucratic officials. Comparing British and French experiences across today's Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam, Kim examines how the everyday work of local administrators delegitimized the taxing of opium, which in turn made major anti-opium reforms possible. Empires of Vice reveals the inner life of colonial bureaucracy, illuminating how European rulers reconfigured their opium-entangled foundations of governance and shaped Southeast Asia's political economy of illicit drugs and the punitive state.

General

Imprint:	Princeton University Press
Country of origin:	United States
Series:	Histories of Economic Life
Release date:	February 2020
First published:	2020
Authors:	Diana S. Kim
Dimensions:	235 x 155 x 32mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover - Trade binding
Pages:	336
ISBN-13:	978-0-691-17240-8
Categories:	Books > Humanities > History > World history > 1750 to 1900 Books > Humanities > History > Asian / Middle Eastern history > General Books > Humanities > History > History of specific subjects > Economic history Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Crime & criminology > Drugs trade / drug trafficking Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Political ideologies > Imperialism Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > International relations > General Books > Humanities > History > World history > From 1900 > General Books > History > Asian / Middle Eastern history > General Books > History > History of specific subjects > Economic history Books > History > World history > 1750 to 1900 Books > History > World history > From 1900 > General
LSN:	0-691-17240-4
Barcode:	9780691172408

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