'Learning on the ground' : five australian officials and asian decolonisation, 1945-1950

Abstract

Between 1945 and 1950, five Australian officials were tasked with formulating responses to the seismic transformations in the Asian region as the European colonial system disintegrated and nationalism rose in its stead. As representatives of the Australian government their role was ostensibly clear: to assess situations, advise their government and convey its priorities, and exert whatever influence they could on developments. Yet they were operating in an inchoate, still-professionalizing period in Australian foreign policy as well as a time when regional events were unsettled and fast-evolving. These officials' personal engagement, therefore, assumes particular importance in evaluating both the nature of Australia's diplomatic encounter with the 'new Asia' and the broader ways in which Australians comprehended such change. This thesis centres on assessments of the ways each of these figures understood and undertook their tasks, the negotiations, judgements and relationships they were drawn into, and the ways in which their work and experience informs our understanding of this crucial period in the evolution of Australian international engagement. Show more