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Book
Review |
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Frey, Marc, Ronald W. Pruessen, and Tan Tai Yong, editors. The Transformation
of Southeast Asia: International Perspectives on Decolonization (Armonk:
M. E Sharpe, 2003). 358 pp, $27.95. |
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Southeast Asia does not figure prominently
in most World History survey courses, even when it comes to the critical
period of decolonization during the Cold War era. For example, most
courses completely neglect Indonesia, despite the fact that it is one of
the largest nations in the world and possesses the world's largest Muslim
population. This new collection of essays written by experts from
important research institutions in Southeast Asia, the United States, and
Europe constitutes a crucial step in correcting this neglect. Yet
most importantly, this volume firmly positions the United States as an important
player in the history of decolonization in Southeast Asia |
1 |
The authors in this volume propose to shift
the traditional analysis of decolonization in Southeast Asia by moving beyond
conservative political and strategic approaches to embrace the cultural
and economic concerns of post-colonial scholarship. The volume's methodology
broadens the accepted periodization of decolonization in Southeast Asia
by extending it backwards to the late nineteenth century and forward beyond
the formal transfers of power during the Cold War era. The comparative
analysis of empires and the collaborative multinational scholarship provides
a careful analysis of the distinctiveness of the British, Dutch and French
empires, and the particular roles played by European and American powers
in decolonization. |
2 |
The first set of essays focus on the interplay
of endogenous and exogenous factors in the decolonization of Southeast Asia,
emphasizing how decolonization was affected by debates about colonialism
in both metropole and colonies before WWII, by German and Japanese colonial
advances, and by Dutch and French projects to create a federal form of colonial
political organization. The second set of essays pertain specifically to
the British role in Southeast Asian decolonization. The authors argue
for the crucial importance of the Japanese forward movement of the 1930s
and 1940s in accelerating British "moves towards rationalization, bureaucratization,
and building more inclusive state structures" (108). As a result of these
efforts, the British were able to see their colonies as interrelated rather
than discretely separate. Just as the role of Japan was a crucial factor,
so were the cases of India and China, since the British envisioned India
as a powerful framework for conceptualizing Southeast Asia and as a possible
counter-influence to Chinese communism. Furthermore, the authors emphasize
the role played by Chinese migrants in Southeast Asia by calling attention
to the simultaneous fear of Chinese communist infiltration and immigrant
economic power in the colonies. |
3 |
About one-third of the essays focus specifically
on the United States, and give attention to both strategic and ideological
factors. Indeed, strategic interests are not seen as the only explanatory
framework for U.S. actions in Southeast Asia. Rather, cultural and ideological
factors—including the American "fixation" with the "psychological
underpinnings of power," the need to affirm the credibility of the American
mission (218), the simultaneous commitment to freedom and fear of revolution,
and the nation's belief in racial hierarchies—all receive attention.
In the case of Vietnam, for example, although the United States celebrated
its own exceptionalism and anti-imperialism, American views of the non-European
"Other" were in fact shaped by wider Orientalist discourses shared by all
of the Western imperial powers. While American condescension and paternalism
made cooperation difficult and bred resentment in the area, its drive to
be an agent of modernization was compromised by its insistent anti-communism,
its disapproval of political neutralism, and the incorporation of racialist
ideas in its discourse on development. |
4 |
This is a volume for upper-level undergraduates
or first year graduate students in Southeast Asian history and is an excellent
source of information for the lecturer when integrating Southeast Asian
decolonization into world history courses. It does not contain maps
or visuals, but offers a strong perspective for advanced students written
by leading scholars in the field. It assumes a good knowledge of the region's
history and the debates on decolonization. There are some flaws, such
as the relative neglect of America's early involvement in the Philippines
after 1898 and an insistent conceptualization by the authors of Southeast
Asian peasants as apolitical. Yet the authors' awareness of the global context of
decolonization and the economic, cultural, and strategic processes that
framed its evolution makes this volume as an important addition to World
History historiography. |
5 |
Victor Rodriquez
UCLA |