My historical research and essays. Some of the articles may no longer represent my current views and exist here as a record.
Alexander Gershenkron (1904-1978) argued that backwardness could have a relatively positive economic role in late industrialising nations.[1] Backwardness, in Gershenkron’s sense of the word, is a state in which a country’s industry is behind that of other nations. He argued that this would lead to a number of conditions occurring during industrialisation: institutions would change …
India was a latecomer to industrialisation but has since become a major economic power, notably in the ICT-related service industry. This essay will be outlining how the Bangalore IT cluster developed and how this demonstrates that India can catch up with industrialised countries, but through its own methods. A cluster, in this sense, refers to …
Read more “Indian IT, the Bangalore Cluster and Catching Up”
Kipling (1865-1936) is often seen as an Orientalist writer, a branch of arts and literature condemned for its imitation of Eastern life in order to fulfil a western agenda.[1] Orientalism, in essence, is the portrayal of the ‘East’ (specifically: The Indian region) under a stereotypical narrative. This narrative has been described by the likes of …
Nationality and culture are typically taken for granted. In actual fact, many of our traditions and aspects of our national identity were intentionally invented. Hobsbawm (1992) argued that many customs and traditions were intentionally created in order to create national unity.[1] Anderson (1982) argued that nations were merely an “imagined political community.”[2] It took Hobsbawm’s …
For many African states, cash cropping is a major livelihood and prime source of income. Despite this importance, the industry has not achieved long term growth in a number of African economies. Many cash cropping contexts have succeeded and grown rapidly in the past, but a multitude of these, such as starch exports, have since …
Half of a Yellow Sun (henceforth: HYS) by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a historiographical fiction novel set before and during the iconic Biafran War of 1967 to 1970. The book follows the perspective of three main, contrasting characters. The first character to be introduced is that of Ugwu, the young house boy from rural Nigeria, …
By the end of the Great Depression, faith in the laissez-faire market had fallen. Politicians and policy makers were looking for a new system to not only fix the economy but to secure their place against the rise of Communism and Fascism. John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946), with his penchant for practical economics and policy, was …
Despite being seen as having two vastly different ideologies, the USA and USSR possessed many overarching similarities. These similarities can be seen in their universal and progressive nature and how both sides saw their cause as inevitably victorious. Both sides also found commonality in their 1920-30s economic crises, their alliance during WW2 and the common …
The Battle of Verdun was the single longest battle of the Western Front of the First World War (WW1), lasting from February 21st to December 16th of 1916. The battle has been cited as the primary motivator for the Battle of the Somme, which was started to relieve pressure on the French troops at Verdun.[1] …
Following a decade of economic prosperity and boom in what came to be known as the ‘Roaring Twenties,’ America was hit by a massive economic disaster in 1929 which came to be known as the Great Depression (GD). After a stock market crash caused confidence in the economy to plummet, America needed a rekindling of …
Read more “Was the New Deal a success in combating the Great Depression? “