Shifts in Polarity in the Post-war Global System - Attempted European Re-colonisation in Asia

Matthew David Huntley

Diplomová práce

Anotace:

France and Britains failure in their attempt to re-colonise parts of South-East Asia after the Second World War came out of miscalculations made by their governments and their state institutions. The international system did not transition immediately after the war from multi-polarity to bipolarity. A window of opportunity was available for the two countries to regain influence in the region. The external political environment in the region was not unfavourable to a return of European colonial powers and there were no immediate viable challengers. Foreign policy misjudgements, weak domestic political systems and changes in priorities all contributed to the decline in influence of these two European colonial powers in South-East Asia. This thesis applies realist principles in combination with aspects of constructivism, while observing system and unit levels, to ascertain the root causes of the decline of British and French influence in the region.

Abstract:

France and Britains failure in their attempt to re-colonise parts of South-East Asia after the Second World War came out of miscalculations made by their governments and their state institutions. The international system did not transition immediately after the war from multi-polarity to bipolarity. A window of opportunity was available for the two countries to regain influence in the region. The external political environment in the region was not unfavourable to a return of European colonial powers and there were no immediate viable challengers. Foreign policy misjudgements, weak domestic political systems and changes in priorities all contributed to the decline in influence of these two European colonial powers in South-East Asia. This thesis applies realist principles in combination with aspects of constructivism, while observing system and unit levels, to ascertain the root causes of the decline of British and French influence in the region.

Klíčová slova

colonialism, polarity, communism, foreign policy, exogenous factors, transition, identity, nationalism, imperialism, insurgency, endogenous factors

Keywords

colonialism, polarity, communism, foreign policy, exogenous factors, endogenous factors, identity, nationalism, imperialism, transition, insurgency

Jazyk práce: angličtina

Datum vytvoření / odevzdání či podání práce: 10. 6. 2016

Obhajoba závěrečné práce

• Obhajoba proběhla 25. 5. 2017
• Vedoucí: Jeremy Alan Garlick
• Oponent: Radka Havlová

Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze

Magisterský studijní program / obor:
Mezinárodní ekonomické vztahy / International and Diplomatic Studies