ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the Southeast Asian decolonization with an overview of some of the chronological complexities and multifaceted dynamics. Colonialism was a set of complex and shifting phenomena, shaped by political and economic pressures in the countries that held overseas territories, in the colonial areas, and in the broader world environment. The penultimate phase of colonialism in Southeast Asia featured radical proposals designed to restructure the territories held by the colonial powers and to create new mechanisms of government and administration. Broek's progressive elements revive the proposals of calling the internationalization of colonial affairs as a way of reshaping the postwar world. The 1930s were dominated by efforts to deal with the Great Depression and the threat of war and attempts to create more tightly integrated colonial empires. When the Japanese occupation temporarily put an end to Western rule in Southeast Asia, the elimination of many vested interests seemed to create an environment conducive to change.
