Imperialism and Morality and the Colonial Administration of A.W.F. Idenburg, 1901-1935

This doctoral thesis revolves around the question of how the Netherlands, and Idenburg in particular, was able to pursue a policy of ethical imperialism against a backdrop of changing colonial relations and geopolitical developments. To what extent was Idenburg able to play a decisive role in the Dutch colonial policy?

It is divided into three parts that are in line with the angles worked out by the nineteenth-century French political philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville in his liberal-conservative world view: social imperialism, culture and identity politics, and the workings of democracy.

A commercial edition of this thesis will be published by Prometheus (Amsterdam) during the autumn of 2021.

The supervisory committee consists of prof.dr. George Harinck (VU University Amsterdam) and prof.dr. Hans Renders.

Hans van der Jagt was a PhD candidate at VU University Amsterdam. The public defense of his thesis took place on June 24, 2021, 1.45 pm. An interview with Van der Jagt appeared in Nederlands Dagblad. De Volkskrant, NRC Handelsblad, De Groene Amsterdammer, Historisch Nieuwsblad and Biografieportaal published reviews of his thesis. Elsevier Weekblad featured an essay by Van der Jagt on occasion of the publication of his book.