The Market and the Oikos, Vol. III

In the third volume of The Market and the Oikos, Hans Derks examines the transformative 30-year period from 1918 to 1948 in Palestine, situating it within the broader context of the decline of Western imperial power and the dissolution of the British Empire. Following World War I, the British Empire sought to reassert its influence in the East, with particular emphasis on the Middle East due to the strategic importance of the Suez Canal and newly discovered oil resources.

The author analyzes the complex interplay of British colonial policies, the Zionist settler movement, and evolving geopolitical alliances. This volume offers a nuanced exploration of the origins of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the long-lasting legacies of colonialism. It provides a critical examination of the geopolitics of the early 20th century, highlighting the significant global consequences of the collapse of imperial powers.

Hans Derks, Ph.D. (1986), Amsterdam University, taught at universities in the Netherlands and abroad. He has published many monographs and articles, often on China, including The History of the Opium Problem: The Assault on the East, ca. 1600-1950 (Brill, 2012); Victims and Perpetrators: Dutch Shoah, 1933/45 and beyond (Brill, 2019); and the first two volumes of this set, The Market and the Oikos: The Relationship Between Religion and Capitalism in Modern China (Brill, 2018) and The Market and the Oikos, Vol. II The Peasant and the Nomad in History (Brill, 2022). The author’s webpage is www.hderks.dds.nl.