Projections of Power: The United States and Europe in Colonial Southeast Asia, 1919-1941 PDF
Preview Projections of Power: The United States and Europe in Colonial Southeast Asia, 1919-1941
Projections of Power AmericAn encounters / GlobAl interActions A series edited by Gilbert M. Joseph and Emily S. Rosenberg This series aims to stimulate critical perspectives and fresh interpretive frameworks for scholarship on the history of the imposing global presence of the United States. Its primary concerns include the deployment and contestation of power, the construction and deconstruction of cultural and political borders, the fluid meanings of intercultural encounters, and the complex interplay between the global and the local. American Encounters seeks to strengthen dialogue and collaboration between historians of United States international relations and area studies specialists. The series encourages scholarship based on multiarchival historical research. At the same time, it supports a recognition of the representational character of all stories about the past and promotes critical inquiry into issues of subjectivity and narrative. In the process American Encounters strives to understand the context in which meanings related to nations, cultures, and political economy are continually produced, challenged, and reshaped. Projections of Power The United States and Europe in Colonial Southeast Asia, 1919–1941 Anne L. Foster Duke University Press ‖ Durham and London ‖ 2010 © 2010 Duke University Press All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper ♾ Typeset in Charis by Tseng Information Systems, Inc. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data appear on the last printed page of this book. Contents Acknowledgments vii Preface ix Introduction 1 1. New Threats and New Opportunities: Regional Cooperation in Southeast Asia, 1919–1929 15 2. “The Highways of Trade Will Be Highways of Peace”: United States Trade and Investment in Southeast Asia 43 3. An Empire of the Mind: American Culture and Southeast Asia, 1919–1941 73 4. Depression and the Discovery of Limits 111 5. Challenges to the Established Order, 1930–1939 143 Conclusion: The United States and Imperialism in Twentieth-Century Southeast Asia 175 List of Abbreviations 181 Notes 183 Bibliography 219 Index 235 Acknowledgments From the earliest conception of this book in my first graduate seminar until the last days before submitting the final version of my manuscript, I have re- ceived instruction, support, friendship, and insightful readings from so many people. First I thank my professors, now friends: Bob Beisner, Alan Kraut, Valerie French, and Peter Kuznick from my undergraduate days at American University, and Takashi Shiraishi, the late David Wyatt, Sherman Cochran, Ted Lowi, Mary Beth Norton, and Michael Kammen from my graduate days at Cornell University. My graduate mentor, Walter LaFeber, stands alone as a wonderful teacher, scholar, example, and advisor. His wisdom, support, and care helped me become the scholar and teacher I am today. During the research and writing of the dissertation which became this book I received support from friends made in graduate school, especially Mary Callahan, John Fousek, Jojo Abinales, Donna Amoroso, Shawn McHale, Jeff Hadler, Elizabeth Remick, Jim Siekmeier, Sayuri Shimizu, and Mike Montesano, a wonderfully distracting office mate. During research I met Mark Bradley and Chris Goscha, who have been wonderful readers and better friends. In the years during which the dissertation became a book, I benefited from the help and friendship of Cary Fraser, David Langbart, Frank Costigliola, Paul Kramer, Andy Muldoon, Geoff Smith, Sam Walker, and Bill Walker. Frank has been a constant support and source of encour- agement. Cary read several versions of the introduction, and his suggestions helped me every time. Thanks for supportive words at crucial moments from Al McCoy and Ian Tyrell. I appreciate as well Emily Rosenberg’s continued faith, and last-minute help when I really needed it. Financial support enabled multiple trips to archives in Europe and the United States, and some much needed time for writing. I received support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s Fellowship in viii Acknowledgments Peace and International Cooperation, the Faculty Summer Research grant at Saint Anselm College, and the University Research Grant at Indiana State University. Archivists and librarians performed wonders and tolerated my unusual requests, sometimes in less-than-colloquial Dutch or, especially, French. Thanks in particular to David Langbart of the United States National Ar- chives for his suggestions of new places to look for things of interest. The librarians of Cunningham Memorial Library at Indiana State University, especially Steve Hardin, and of Geisel Library at Saint Anselm College patiently and quickly found even the most obscure of my interlibrary loan requests. Valerie Millholland and Miriam Angress at Duke University Press have been patient and helpful well above the normal expectations. I appreciate as well the perceptive and sympathetic readings from two anonymous readers, whose comments improved the book. I remain responsible for any errors or lack of clarity. My colleagues at Saint Anselm College and now at Indiana State Univer- sity have made professional life a pleasure. Thanks especially to Silvia Shan- non for friendship and mentoring. Chris Olsen, Dave Nichols, Ann Chirhart, and Barbara Skinner have contributed to this book in ways that only they will recognize. My students at both institutions have listened to many more stories about rubber and tin than they thought existed, tolerated them with good humor, and helped me write about those subjects more accessibly. For hospitality and friendship during research trips, thanks to David Aldridge and Diane Gross, Tom Jacobsen and Mabel Shaw, Mark Bradley and Anne Hansen. Friends have provided critical support during the writing too, cooking for me, sometimes even cleaning my house. Such help enabled the final push. Naomi and Susan have often been the welcome distraction, reminding me that dancing in the living room and bike rides to the park are necessary for a well-rounded life. My parents, Chuck and Jan Foster, first taught me history through the telling of family stories. Their support and encouragement have been unceasing, and I rely on that. Preface The imperial system of Southeast Asia in the early twentieth century was dynamically formed by an international process. By placing the imperial experiences of Europeans, Americans, and Southeast Asians within one ana- lytical frame, this book explains aspects of that imperial system previously difficult to understand. For instance, how did European governments work to maintain political control as economic control slipped away to other countries and, to some degree, to indigenous actors? How did the increas- ing power of the United States simultaneously strengthen and threaten the imperial system in Southeast Asia? How did ideologies such as nationalism and communism work to create sentiments of common identity for South- east Asians as a group, as well as for Europeans and Americans? What were the effects of growing exposure to consumer culture from the United States? The Introduction to this book suggests some ways in which answers to these questions enhance understandings of Southeast Asian history, imperial history, and the history of United States foreign relations. A key argument sketched in the Introduction and elaborated throughout the book is that the presence of the United States in Southeast Asia as a colonial power was instrumental in creating the type of imperialism which existed during the period 1919–41. Chapter 1 explores political relations and developments from 1919 to 1929, and focuses on the initial fears of Europeans after the First World War that the United States would lead, at least rhetorically, a wave of challenges to European colonial rule. Then, in the face of challenges from both Japan and nascent communist movements in the region, Europeans and Ameri- cans made common cause against these external threats even while United States officials attempted to hold themselves aloof from public displays of support for European colonial rule. United States political actions and poli-
The list of books you might like
