140340 SE SE IE - VM5 - VM6 From Colonialism and Nationalism to Regional Cooperation: East Asia since 1850 (2012W)

European Colonialism started in East Asia, consisting of Northeast and Southeast Asia, c. 1500. However, it only reached its peak in regard to the penetration of the local societies and the autochthonous political and economic structures after 1850. In the early 20th century, nationalist movements, struggling for independence, gained popularity among intellectuals and, gradually, the broader masses. After the Russian Revolution, Communist groups attracted supporters in the few urban regions of the agriculturally oriented East Asian societies. At the same time Muslim renewal movements focused on social and educational reforms rather than pursuing a comprehensive political agenda.
During the Second World War Japanese troops who had already occupied Korea (1905) and large parts of China (since 1933) conquered almost whole East Asia. After 1945 Indonesia and Vietnam had to fight bloody independence wars against the former colonial powers, the Netherlands and France, respectively, while the dissolution of the British Empire in East Asia was comparatively peaceful.
Both in Northeast and Southeast Asia nationalism remained strong after 1945, and the new Cold War logic further accelerated bilateral tensions among the various nation-states that were engaged in nation-building and socioeconomic development. Regional collaboration was further hampered by the bilateral approaches of the major powers United States, the Soviet Union and China. Only since the 1960s has regional cooperation gained pace in Southeast Asia. Today, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is the driving force for collaboration in the Asia-Pacific, e.g. with mechanisms such as ASEAN plus three (APT), the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), the East Asian Summit (EAS) and the East Asian Community.