Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book highlights the importance of regional cooperation as a policy objective and how it was designed to work alongside bilateral aid programs, make use of ideas generated from the regional nations for closer cooperation amongst their neighbours, and be an integral part of American containment policies in Southeast Asia. Regionalism for the United States in the post-war period began as an attempt to secure countries within a region, and the creation of an Asian-only organisation would follow. In addition, most of the countries in Southeast Asia had all been under colonial control before the outbreak of the Second World War, and concerns for communist insurgencies as an offshoot of decolonisation caused American officials to turn their attention towards this particular area.