Evaluation of Asia and Decolonization in the US Press

Abstract

No research in the colonial system issues during the Cold War would be complete without studying the press of the participating parties. In order to give a detailed analysis of the international relationships in terms of the global transformations from an American point of view, the article explores relevant newspaper articles published after the World War II. It shows changes concerning priority schemes as viewed in American social discourse during 1945. Roosevelt’s plan for the dismantling of the colonial empires was gradually replaced with less radical plans, which presupposed using the colonial experience for foreign policy of the USA. The materials of the American press of 1945 dedicated to the search for the most effective strategy of building relations with both colonial empires and dependent territories demonstrate, among other things, a steady interest of American mass media in negative and positive experience of colonial policy. Thus, in the American public discourse of late 1945 emerged several new approaches towards evaluation of the prospects of the colonial system. The first approach: retention of all colonial empires, especially in the key points of the after-war world (Middle East, Indochina, Northern Africa). The second approach: retention of the British colonial empire capable of controlling (with the aid from the USA) the Mediterranean area, the Middle East, and the South-Eastern Asia; which would address two tasks, namely provision of valuable raw materials for the American economy, and control over rebels and national liberation forces. The third approach: replacement of colonial empires with American military presence in order to solve the same problems.