Constructive Imperialism, Experts and Crisis in Colonial Cyprus

Serkan Karas

Sept. 2021 · Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Über dieses E-Book

This book explores the colonial history of Cyprus through the history of technology. Based on materialist and actor-network approaches to power, it unfolds the role of technology in the formation of British colonial rule during critical episodes in Cyprus. It considers the entanglement of colonial rule and technology in four cases of infrastructural development: the island-wide electrification project, Famagusta and Larnaca Harbours, and the Cyprus Government Railway. Throughout these cases, the reader will discover the expert-based, developmentalist and material ways of governing crises with which the British Empire expected to reproduce and prolong its rule on the island.

Autoren-Profil

Serkan Karas studied Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Boğaziçi University, Turkey, and completed his PhD in History of Technology at the University of Athens. He is interested in long-term histories of themes intertwining infrastructures, environment and power, and he has worked on research projects studying the agriculture, energy and water-management sectors. His research is specifically focused on cases from Cyprus, Greece and Turkey.