By Stefan Eklöf Amirell

Colonisation and Maritime Violence in Southeast Asia. “The suppression of piracy and other forms of maritime violence was a keystone in the colonisation of Southeast Asia. Focusing on what was seen in the nineteenth century as the three most pirate-infested areas in the region – the Sulu Sea, the Strait of Malacca and Indochina – this comparative study in colonial history explores how piracy was defined, contested and used to resist or justify colonial expansion, particularly during the most intense phase of imperial expansion in Southeast Asia from c. 1850 to c. 1920.”

Cambridge University Press. (2019) 278 pages.

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By Pietro Marongiu and Graeme R. Newman.

As relevant to the 21st century as it was in the 20th century when it was first written, in this second edition of Vengeance: The Fight Against Injustice, the authors provide a cogent appraisal of the most recent scholarship on vengeance that has generally confirmed the theses developed in the first edition, and offer new insights into the nature and role of punishment in modern society. The authors examine the historic and cultural manifestations of the need to inflict punishment on one's enemies. They trace the ways the deep seated desire for vengeance has developed and changed over the centuries and has affected our legal system, moral codes, and cultural myths. By bringing together insights from history, anthropology, sociology, classical and literary studies, and mythology, the authors have produced a landmark study that greatly enlarges our understanding of the problems of violence, criminal justice, and vigilantism in modern society.

Harrow and Heston Publishers. 2019. 196p.