By considering the distinctiveness of the inter-war years as a discrete
period of colonial change, this book addresses several larger issues,
such as tracing the origins of decolonization in the rise of colonial
nationalism, and a re-assessment of the impact of inter-war colonial
rebellions in Africa, Syria and Indochina. The book also connects French
theories of colonial governance to the lived experience of colonial rule
in a period scarred by war and economic dislocation.