How Far Was the Process of Decolonisation Affected by Cold War?

...

Thus, the Cold War was most crucial in affecting decolonisation process as it aroused fear of communism and critically affected colonial powers’ mindset and subsequent actions taken.

BP3: However, key players such as the colonial powers were also crucial in affecting the decolonisation process as some colonial powers were willing to grant independence to their colonies as long as it was not detrimental to their interests and were convinced that their colonies were sufficiently prepared for independence.

In Burma, the British granted independence to Burma on 4 Jan 1948 as they no longer had any stronger economic and strategic interests in retaining Burma as a colony after India was granted independence in 1947. Moreover, the British was under pressure by Aung San’s immense popularity with the Burmese and firm leadership of a strong and united Anti-Facist People Freedom League (AFPFL).

Similarly in Philippines, the US have signalled their willingness to grant independence through the 1934 Tydings McDuffie Act and was further solidified by the 1946 Bell Trade Act since the US was able to secure their economic interests even after Philippines gained independence. The Philippines eventually gained independence on 4 July 1946.

Nevertheless, despite strategic and economic concerns, the colonial powers still needed to be convinced of the anti-communists credentials of the nationalists before granting them independence hence demonstrating the crucial impact of Cold War in the decolonisation process.

BP4: Additionally, the nationalist leaders were crucial in the decolonisation process as they employed revolutionary tactics using their newly acquired military forces, to force colonial powers to concede independence due to the uncompromising hostility of returning colonial powers.

In Indonesia, General Sudirman used the Indonesian Republican Army (IRA) and turned to guerilla warfare against the Dutch Police Actions. The Dutch was ill-prepared for a protracted war which upset its communications and tied down the 140,000 strong colonial army. Sukarno and Hatta was seen as ally by the US due to the 1948 Madiun Affair and hence the US forced Dutch to grant independence to Indonesia resulting in the Nov 1949 Hague Agreement and granting of independence on 27 Dec 1949.

Likewise for Vietnam, there was a major French defeat during the Battle of Dien Bien Phu as Vietminh was supplied by willing peasants and gradually surrounded the beleaguered French garrison until it was forced to surrender, resulting in the loss of French political will to continue fighting the Vietnamese. Hence, France formally granted independence to Vietnam under the July 1954 Geneva Accords.

However, it should be noted that Cold War was the most crucial as the intervention of the US in these 2 countries have decided the pace towards independence. In the case of Indonesia, without US role in 1948, Dutch may not have granted independence to Indonesia since they were not directly intimidated by the confrontations. Likewise for Vietnam, the US was the one who delayed the independence process until 1975 (30 years) by supporting French monetarily hence Cold War played a crucial role in determining the pace towards independence.

In conclusion, the Cold War is most crucial in affecting the decolonisation process as it holds great responsibility for the actions taken by key players which in turn had a crucial impact on the entire process. Although key players such as colonial powers and nationalist leaders played a crucial role as well, the Cold War outweighs it as it inevitably controlled and influenced the key players towards achieving independence. Therefore, Cold War was most crucial in affecting the decolonisation process.