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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Wartime Recruiting Practices, Martial Identity and Post-World War II Demobilization in Colonial Kenya
Author:Brands, Hal
Year:2005
Periodical:The Journal of African History
Volume:46
Issue:1
Period:March
Pages:103-125
Language:English
Geographic term:Kenya
Subjects:veterans
colonial forces
colonialism
History and Exploration
Military, Defense and Arms
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/4100831
Abstract:After World War II, African ex-servicemen in Kenya sought to maintain the socioeconomic gains they had accrued through service in the King's African Rifles (KAR). Looking for middle-class employment and social privileges, they challenged existing relationships within the colonial State. For the most part, veterans did not participate in national politics, believing that their goals could be achieved within the confines of colonial society. The postwar actions of KAR veterans are best explained by an examination of their initial perceptions of colonial military service. Indeed, the social and economic connotations of KAR service, combined with the massive wartime expansion of Kenyan defence forces, created a new class of Africans with distinctive characteristics and interests. These socioeconomic perceptions proved powerful after the war, often informing ex-askari action. Notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract]
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