Between military and political expedience: ‘machinery of Rule’ in the British Empire during the Interbellum

The Interbellum period was marked by heated debates among proponents of different legal regimes governing the colonial order across the British Empire in the years after the Great War. These discussions reflected theoretical and doctrinal tensions between military and civilian authorities over the boundaries of their respective responsibilities in this matter, as well as contradictions between international law and internal security within imperial context. The article examines shifts in the military class’s attitudes to the use of force in maintaining the Empire’s internal security after the Great War in the light of legal restrictions and new challenges to colonial rule, primarily those posed by national movements. The study focuses on the views of British army officials regarding the legal frameworks for crisis management in the colonies, including the objectives, tasks, and conditions for imposing martial law and/or emergency regimes. This research perspective offers a fresh lens on the evolution of administrative practices during the twilight years of the British Empire. The article outlines the distinctive features of Britain’s ‘imperial school’ of military thought, while emphasising the growing role of the armed forces alongside the declining utility of other instruments for preserving colonial rule in dependent territories.