CfP: Britain to South Asia: From Imperial Anti-Bolshevism to Cold War Frameworks, 1920–19711.11.2026 {en}
Britain to South Asia: From Imperial Anti-Bolshevism to Cold War Frameworks, 1920–1971
Seeking New Chapters on Pakistan and Bangladesh
The editors invite chapter proposals for an edited volume examining the transition from British imperial anti-Bolshevism to Cold War security frameworks in South Asia between 1920 and 1971. The volume explores the continuities and transformations of intelligence, surveillance, political policing, and security governance across the colonial and postcolonial divide.
We are currently seeking new contributions focusing exclusively on Pakistan and Bangladesh, including East Pakistan during 1947–1971. Chapters on other geographical areas have already been secured.
Areas of Interest
We welcome original historical research engaging with, but not limited to, the following themes:
- Colonial Legacies of Surveillance: Intelligence networks, political policing, anti-communism, and the institutional inheritance of British rule.
- Pakistan and the Cold War: The adaptation of colonial security institutions, anti-communist policies, intelligence practices, and domestic political control.
- East Pakistan and Bangladesh: Political surveillance, communist movements, labor and peasant mobilization, state repression, and the changing security landscape leading up to 1971.
- Political Policing and Internal Security: Preventive detention, emergency legislation, political dissent, and the construction of internal enemies.
- Transnational Networks: British imperial intelligence, regional security cooperation, and the influence of global Cold War rivalries on South Asian state formation.
Contributions drawing on archival sources, institutional histories, political movements, and the relationship between colonial governance and postcolonial security regimes are particularly welcome.
Submission Guidelines
- Abstract: 300–400 words
- Biographical note: 100–150 words
- Proposed chapter length: 8,000–9,000 words
- Referencing style: Chicago Manual of Style
Abstract submission deadline: November 30, 2026
Submission Process
Please submit your abstract and a brief biographical note to:
Dr. Aritra De, Editor
Email: coldwar.volume[at]gmail.com
About the Volume
Moving beyond nation-centred narratives, this volume examines South Asia as an active site where imperial security practices were inherited, adapted, and transformed amid global ideological conflict. The project has received initial expressions of interest from Palgrave Macmillan (UK), with a formal proposal to be submitted following chapter selection.
About the Editor
Dr. Aritra De is a historian of South Asia and holds a PhD from Texas Tech University (2023). He is a Baden-Württemberg Early Career Fellow at the Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS), University of Freiburg, Germany. His research focuses on Cold War political culture, state formation, and transnational ideological movements in South Asia.
Keywords: Pakistan; Bangladesh; East Pakistan; Imperial Anti-Bolshevism; Cold War South Asia; Intelligence and Surveillance; Political Policing; Postcolonial State Formation; Communism.
Source: CALL FOR CHAPTERS: Britain to South Asia: From Imperial Anti-Bolshevism to Cold War Frameworks, 1920–1971, H-Net: Humanities & Social Sciences Online „CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.“
