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Engaging with Asia: the Chifley Government and the New Delhi Conferences of 1947 and 1949
Author(s) -
Suares Julie
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
australian journal of politics and history
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.123
H-Index - 23
eISSN - 1467-8497
pISSN - 0004-9522
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8497.2011.01610.x
Subject(s) - new delhi , government (linguistics) , indonesian , political science , colonialism , ideal (ethics) , attendance , foreign policy , order (exchange) , politics , world war ii , south asia , development economics , economic history , ancient history , history , law , economics , philosophy , linguistics , archaeology , metropolitan area , finance
This article is a study of the Chifley government's foreign policy towards Asia, in particular India and Indonesia, as evidenced by Australia's attendance at the 1947 Asian Relations Conference and the 1949 New Delhi Conference on the Indonesian‐Dutch conflict. Australia's presence at these two conferences provides an ideal opportunity to examine the Chifley government's response to the momentous changes that occurred in post‐war Asia as a result of the dismantling of the European colonial world order. Through detailed examination of the archival material and contemporary accounts generated from Australia's involvement in the New Delhi conferences, this article will argue that despite significant political constraints, the Chifley government did adopt a distinctive and innovative policy towards the emergent nations of Asia in the immediate post‐war years.