ABSTRACT
Indonesia was ‘born in fire’, Vietnam was ‘baptised in revolution’, and Malaya ‘handed Merdeka on a golden platter’. This contrast makes it tempting to depict British strategies as a success, and to look for explanatory factors: Britain's long-term commitment to a world of nationstates, the presence of collaborative, conservative Malay and Chinese elites, or the use of ‘hearts and minds’ warfare to emasculate insurgency. 1
