Empires of Vice

Co-Winner of the Giovanni Sartori Best Book Award, Qualitative Methods Section of the American Political Science Association Kim's argument adds a valuable dimension and a perspective from the colonies most affected in a period which has been less written about by historians. . . . [Kim] adds to our understanding of how fundamental changes in response to the consumption of opiates came about. ---Virginia Berridge, Addiction Empires of Vice is well researched, with sources ranging from government records and meeting minutes to personal papers from state and private archives. It is written in an accessible style and will be of value to scholars of Southeast Asia, drugs history, and colonialism. ---Eric Colvard, Journal of British Studies Empires of Vice is an important book that underscores the critical role of low-level bureaucrats in transforming the state. . . . [Diana Kim's] work is deeply rooted in the central contributions and concerns of a broad set of literatures, but also, by shifting the object of empirical analysis to a different region, a later time period than predominant literature, and by looking closely at the anxieties of overlooked actors, Empires of Vice grows its own wings. ---Katrina Quisumbing King, American Journal of Sociology An original account of the shift towards opium prohibition that occurred across colonial South East Asia . . . . Kim's work will be of interest to scholars of drug history, the history and politics of South East Asia and those interested in the development of the colonial state. ---Ashley Wright, South East Asia Research