Decolonisation, Modernisation and Nation-Building: Political Development Theory and the Appeal of Communism in Southeast Asia, 1945–1975

Abstract

Modernisation theory and political development theory played a key role in the formalisation of the study of Southeast Asia, while the dramatic transitions from colonies to nation-states in the region and the deepening war in Vietnam were also pivotal to the rise and transformation of modernisation theory. This article provides a critical historical overview of the rise and elaboration of theories of political development and nation-building between 1945 and 1975.

How Unique is East Asian Modernity?1

“…The case for identifying 'the' Western model with political democracy would, therefore, have been much weaker then than it may appear today. 9 As argued forcefully by Berger (2003), other authors also emphasized successful state-and nation-building over and above establishing a democratic polity. This is especially true of modernisation theorists who were more or less directly involved in (US foreign) policy designation.…”

Contentious mass politics in Southeast Asia: Knowledge accumulation and cycles of growth and exhaustion

“…In the postwar political climate in the US, support for anti-colonial nationalist movements was quickly overtaken by the fear of communist expansion in Southeast Asia. Studies on the origins of modernization theory have invariably pointed to the hidden link between the US government's anti-communist agenda and this ostensibly scientific theory (Berger, 2003;Latham, 2000). 57 What can the historical development of research on contentious mass politics in Southeast Asia -one of the Western fronts against world communism in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s -teach us about this relationship between politics and scholarship?…”

“…5 These claims are difficult to verify because systematic comparisons of different methods as applied in a particular area of research have seldom been done. Second, given the high geopolitical stake Southeast Asia held for the US in the postwar period, the topic offers a unique opportunity to assess the common claim about the domination of Cold War concerns over American scholarship, as observed, for example, in the literature on modernization and political development (Adas, 1989;Berger, 2003;Latham, 2000). Did "imperial interests" also define the scholarship in this case?…”

“…For a discussion and sources on the politics of postwar scholarship in the US, particularly with respect to Southeast Asia, seeBerger (2003).…”

From nation-states in conflict to conflict in nation-states: The United States of America and nation building from South Vietnam to Afghanistan

“…During the Cold War era (1946/ 1948-1989/1991) there were also a significant number of civil wars and insurgencies within nation-states, virtually all of which were domesticated to the global Cold War (Berger, 2008a, b). This was complemented by the rise in the First World (the United States and its allies-clients) of development economics, modernization theory, counterinsurgency doctrine, and a growing theory and practice of nation building focused on what became known as the Third World (Berger, 2003(Berger, , 2007. It was not until the end of the Cold War that the weakness of a growing number of nation-states around the world and the apparently rising conflict within them assumed a position of equal, if not greater importance than conflict between nation-states (Ayoob, 2007;Fordham, 2008).…”