Typhoon disaster politics in pre-1945 Asia: three case studies

What is it about?

This study compares national discourses emerging after major typhoon disasters in the Philippines (1928), India (1942), and Japan (1934). Typhoon disaster politics were shaped by the “distance” (geographical, institutional, class and cultural) between citizen-victims and the state. Where that distance was great (rural Philippines, Bengal-India), the state tended to minimize victimhood. Where it was small (urban Japan) adaptation was serious and rapid.

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