ABSTRACT
Soon after the Second World War, quite disparate countries such as India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Guyana and Nigeria, began to move through matching phases of post-colonial development—although these phases should not be seen as discontinuous shifts, but as different emphases (Geertz 1975; Smith 1981, 1983; Anderson 1983; Tambiah 1989). The first such phase was decolonisation. In some cases (such as in Algeria), decolonisation was accomplished by wars of liberation, other colonies (such as India) gained independence by means of widespread movements of civil disobedience, whereas yet other countries (such as Sri Lanka) experienced more peaceful transitions. In all cases, the result was a transition of power and government from the colonial masters to local—albeit Western educated—elite groups.
