Facing Asia : a history of the Colombo Plan / Daniel Oakman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Oakman, Daniel, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Economic assistance--Southeast Asia--History.

Economic assistance.

Economic assistance--Political aspects--Southeast Asia.

Economic assistance--Social aspects--Southeast Asia.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (331 pages).

Place of Publication:

Canberra, ACT, Australia : ANU E Press, [2010]

Language Note:

English

System Details:

text file

Summary:

'No nation can escape its geography', warned Percy Spender, Australia's Minister for External Affairs, in 1950. With the immediate turmoil of World War II over, communism and decolonisation had ended any possibility that Asia could continue to be ignored by Australia. In the early 1950s, Australia embarked on its most ambitious attempt to engage with Asia: the Colombo Plan. This book examines the public and private agendas behind Australia's foreign aid diplomacy and reveals the strategic, political and cultural aims that drove the Colombo Plan. It examines the legacy of WWII, how foreign aid was seen as crucial to achieving regional security, how the plan was sold to Australian and Asian audiences, and the changing nature of Australia's relationship with Britain and the United States. Above all this is the question of how Australia sought to project itself into the region, and how Asia was introduced into the Australian consciousness. In answering these questions, this book tells the story of how an insular society, deeply scarred by the turbulence of war, chose to face its regional future.

Contents:

Acknowledgements; Contents; 1. Introduction; 2. The Road to Colombo; 3. Building a Bridge to Asia; 4. The Seed of Freedom; 5. A Good Shoe-horn for our Interests; 6. Face to Face with Asia; 7. A Toothpick to Prop Up a Swaying Skyscraper; 8. Crossing the Frontier; Epilogue; Abbreviations; Bibliography; Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

CC BY-NC-ND

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (ebrary, viewed October 11, 2016).

Other Format:

Print version:

ISBN:

9781921666933 (ebook)

OCLC:

1250403008

Publisher Number:

10.26530/OAPEN_459231