Authors such as Anthony Short and Richard Stubbs have suggested that the Em
ergency was at a stalemate in 1951, and that "hearts and minds" measures or
the leadership of Sir Gerald Templer subsequently transformed the British
campaign. By contrast, this article argues that the Emergency reached a cri
tical point as early as 1951-52, and that Britain's success was based less
on the wooing of "hearts and minds" than on "screwing down" Communist suppo
rters through population control measures, an approach which proved effecti
ve because of local ethnic, social and political patterns.