Meor Alif graduated valedictorian with a Bachelor of Human Sciences in Political Science (First Class) from the International Islamic University Malaysia, and was awarded four university prizes. He proceeded to obtain a MSc in Comparative Politics (Conflict Studies), and subsequently a MRes in Political Science, at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). At the time of writing, Meor is currently completing his PhD in Political Science under the supervision of Prof. James Hughes, and the advisory of Dr. Bill Kissane, at the Department of Government, LSE.
Thesis
Working title: The Orang Putih’s Counter-insurgency; a re-examination of the British counter-insurgency campaign during the Malayan Emergency
My work dissects Britain's counter-insurgency campaign during the Malayan Emergency and her wider experience at decolonisation in Southeast Asia. The Darurat, as it is known in the local Malay language, is considered as the typical case of a successful modern-day counter-insurgency campaign. The conventional theoretical wisdom posits; that in order to win a counter-insurgency campaign, the force responsible for such a campaign must, similar to Malaya, embark upon a policy of ‘winning hearts and minds’. However, as more official colonial documents pertaining to the Emergency are uncovered and released to the public, the increasing publication of memoirs from individuals formerly involved directly in the Emergency across the political spectrum, and the increased willingness to come forward amongst ex-insurgents as well as members of previously besieged communities affected by mass resettlement to share their accounts; there is ground to doubt the accuracy of our inherited and imbalanced knowledge of the Emergency along with the ‘lessons’ we have derived from it. My research is as much a pursuit of exactitude as it is of a balanced presentation of history. The hegemonic narrative which has been created and sustained must be challenged on the basis of new and relevant revelations concerning the Emergency. It is hoped that this research will be a pathway for a more accurate analysis of the Darurat, and that its monographical nature will lead to a more robust theoretical and empirical account of counter-insurgency.
Supervisor: Professor James Hughes|
Advisor: Dr Bill Kissane|
Research interests
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British Empire
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Colonialism and de-colonisation
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Counter-insurgency
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Southeast Asia
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Comparative study of conflict
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Political violence and terrorism
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Civil wars
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Small wars
Contact
Email: m.a.meor-azalan@lse.ac.uk|