Introduction
The rise of Japan to Great Power status was by no means the only challenge to European predominance, for the rise of nationalism more broadly in Asia, Africa and the Middle East brought about one of the most remarkable features of the twentieth century, the collapse of European colonial rule.
The scale of this transformation can be seen in the fact that in 1913 very few countries in Asia and Africa had escaped colonial subjugation, and even those that retained their sovereignty, such as Siam (Thailand), Persia (Iran), Abyssinia (Ethiopia) and Liberia, found their freedom of manoeuvre constrained by European financial and strategic interests. Within less than seventy years the situation had changed dramatically. Between 1945 and 1980 newly independent states swelled the ranks of the United Nations (UN) while the British, French, Dutch and Portuguese empires were either dead and buried or wizened mockeries of their former glory. While one might debate to what degree these new states were now free from unwelcome outside intervention, this transformation clearly demonstrates that decolonization was one of the century's main themes.The rapidity of the decolonization process after 1945 has meant that much of the writing on the European empires has dwelt on the immediate post-war period down to the mid-1960s. The result has been that, until recently, historical accounts have tended to portray the empires as being largely static in the pre-1939
Great Powers
Traditionally those states that were held capable of shared responsibility for the management of the international order by virtue of their military and economic influence.
United Nations (UN)
An international organization established after the Second World War to replace the League of Nations. Since its establishment in 1945, its membership has grown to 192 countries.
decolonization
The process whereby an imperial power gives up its formal authority over its colonies.
period and then entering into a rapid decline precipitated by the Second World War and the Cold War. This, however, is a skewed and over-generalized view of a very complex phenomenon. Such an interpretation fails to take into account the many battles that took place between nationalism and imperialism in the interwar period, and overlooks the fact that after 1945 the European Powers made strenuous efforts to revitalize certain parts of their empires in what is known as ‘the second colonial occupation'. Thus, in order to understand the decolonization process and the nature of the post-colonial states, it is vital to look at the roots as well as the immediate origins of the shift towards independence, and to study the factors that over time led to the erosion of European colonial rule.
Dominion
A completely self-governing colony which is freely associated with the mother country. Within the British Empire, the Dominions were Australia, Canada, the Irish Free State (1922—49), New Zealand and South Africa.
see Map 4.1
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