The disintegration of former colonial empires in Asia, Africa,
and the Middle East after World War II profoundly affected the
international balance of power, irrevocably altering the political
map of the world. The United States was in a unique position to
influence the outcome of the struggles for independence in the
Third World. In Colonialism and Cold War, Robert J. McMahon looks
closely at one area where American diplomacy played an important
role in the end of the European imperial order: Indonesia, the
archipelago that had been the jewel of the Dutch colonial empire
since the early seventeenth century.
McMahon begins with an overview of the history of Dutch colonial
rule in Indonesia and of the subsequent rise of nationalism among
the peoples of the East Indies. He then traces the evolution of
American policy toward Indonesia during the four years of the
Dutch-Indonesian conflict, analyzing the factors that altered the
course of that policy from initial support for the Dutch to halting
and reluctant support for the nationalists.
The case of Indonesia illuminates American foreign relations as
a whole in the postwar period. McMahon demonstrates the fundamental
link between American colonial policy and the Cold War, showing
that the official attitude toward Indonesia was determined by a
global geopolitical strategy aimed at containing communism. His
study places American policy in Southeast Asia, particularly
Vietnam, in historical context by discussing the roots of that
policy and comparing the cases on Indonesia and Indochina.
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