Because of their importance, the themes of the Cold War and decolonization have captured the interest of scholars for years. As the end of World War II approached in August 1945, a different war began with the decolonization of former colonies; in this respect, Southeast Asia was the location for some of the hottest Cold War front activities. The period covered in Connecting Histories, 1945 to 1962, was crucial for many former colonies in Southeast Asia, for they were busy dealing with transformations not only to become new sovereign states, but, most importantly, to deal with the social self-transformations bolstered by feelings of national pride. Thus, in order to understand the nature of the present-day politics of the countries in this region, it is impossible to ignore this period.
The immense literature on the Cold War and decolonization has grown over the years as scholars and analysts alike have continued to reinvent and contribute new analyses on these topics. The chapters in this new and innovative edited book provide the most current analysis of the Cold War and decolonization in this diverse and sometimes volatile region. As one of the publications of the Cold War International History Project of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and meticulously edited by Christopher E. Goscha and Christian F. Ostermann, the volume features a group of international scholars who offer both unique and fresh perspectives on the subject and develop themes that make this book exciting and thought provoking as it further contributes to the existing literature.
In the introductory section, the editors assert that the contributors chose to “focus on connections, various intersections between decolonization and Cold War” (pp. 1–2), so that they could explore the connections and interactions between these larger topics rather than treat them as separate entities. By using this approach, the book aims to give a unique yet logical analysis of the Cold War and decolonization. Studies derived from the perspectives of Southeast Asian countries have flourished in recent years, especially as formerly restricted sources from various national and party archives have become more accessible. In turn, this has enabled scholars to develop in-depth analyses incorporating broader Southeast Asian perspectives. The studies in this volume were done with the hope of contributing to our understanding of how these countries' processes of decolonization and the Cold War played out and influenced each other in relation to regional dynamics.
In their analyses, the editors propose four distinguishing linkages to explain and understand the complexities of the period: Western trajectories, internationalist communist linkages, Southeast Asian alignments and nonalignments, and cultural connections that include religion, society, and civilization (p. 4). The essays in this book are divided into groups based on those four linkages.
The breadth of new information from party documents that Tuong Vu examines in his essay reveals that Vietnamese communists were, in fact, quite committed to the worldwide communist revolutionary cause, in contrast to the dominant perspective that they were nationalists first and communists second. In an essay on Indonesia's diplomatic revolution between 1945 and 1955, Samuel Crowl examines the success and skillful efforts in Indonesian diplomacy in gaining support from abroad for the nation's struggle for independence from the Dutch, while discussing the international support for Indonesian independence from Australia and India. The topic of Indonesian diplomacy has been rarely examined, as most Indonesian historiography of this period tends to ignore aspects of diplomacy, focusing instead on the armed struggle. Ang Chen Guan's essay gives a brief but sound analysis of Southeast Asian perceptions of the domino theory and provides the background for communist movements in each of the Southeast Asian countries. I believe Chen Guan's essay to be superb background reading for college courses dealing with the topic of the Cold War in Southeast Asia.
Other subjects presented in the book touch on Western policies toward Southeast Asian countries, the impact and inspiration of the nonaligned movement toward foreign policies, Southeast Asia nation-state perceptions of the Cold War, the roles of religion and culture, and the foreign policies of Southeast Asian countries (whether accepting or resisting) to the increasing political pressures from both communist and noncommunist camps. Each of these topics is well presented and informative.
Regardless of its fresh and logical approach to the Cold War and decolonization in Southeast Asia, the book unfortunately does not have any essays discussing the Philippines. I believe it is crucial to include the Philippines in these discussions, as during the period covered by this volume, the country had a distinct background and process of decolonization, in contrast to other Southeast Asian states, because of its special relationship with the United States. Furthermore, the Philippines was one of the main anticommunist bastions in the region; the policies of the government toward communism and the challenges it experienced from within helped create a template for other countries in the region for how to deal with communist movements. The volume would be more complete if it included critical examinations of the Philippines and its decolonization, as well as its role in and reaction to the early stage of the Cold War.
There is also a minor but, I think, important factual error in one of the essays, which states that both Njoto and Sakirman were parliamentary leaders of the communist-line Partai Sosialis Indonesia (Socialist Party) (p. 48)—in fact, they were both members of the Partai Komunis Indonesia (Indonesian Communist Party). The same error is cited again in a different essay (p. 229). These are minor errors, but should be addressed because the accuracy of information is central.
With such a wide and important topic, there will always opportunities in the future for further progress and critical analysis. One such example is a work in progress by a doctoral candidate at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Amelia Liwe, who examines the Cold War from the grassroots perspective of the Permesta movement in North Sulawesi, Indonesia, in late 1950s and how this movement's actions contributed to the overall mind-set of to the country toward the Cold War, as well as the development of the communist movement within Indonesia.
However, more studies are still needed along these lines—for example, on the Cold War intersecting/connecting with resentments brewing at the local level as a result of national decolonization policies, or more careful examinations of the nature and goals of both communist and anticommunist groups in confronting and manipulating the Cold War for domestic or personal gains. Other similar subjects would certainly enrich the understanding of this important and complex period.
The international contributors and editors of this volume have produced highly authoritative studies using an original and logical approach in illuminating aspects of these immense themes while at the same time critically engaging the existing literature and perspectives on the Cold War and decolonization.
