ABSTRACT
The dramatic Indochina conflict of the 1940s and early 1950s was a battle over decolonization: a long struggle between those who wanted it and those who resisted it. The French did not immediately appreciate the strength of Hồ Chí Minh’s revolutionary movement when it was launched in the summer of 1945—and when they began to understand, they sought only to manage and channel the decolonization process in a way that would protect their own interests as far as possible. In this respect, the concept of the “Associated States” was a key component of French strategy. It deserves careful study, if only to show how France moved step by step toward failure in this period.
