Review

General Books

John Springhall's Decolonization since 1945 is the latest volume to appear in Palgrave's very useful series, "Studies in Contemporary History." All the volumes in the series are written by members of the School of History, Philosophy and Politics at the University of Ulster. As with other volumes in this series, the author begins with chapters outlining the key historiographical interpretations of the subject and its historical background. In the opening chapter Springhall summarizes the three principal explanations for how and why the European empires, so prominent before World War II, all but disappeared only thirty years after that war ended victoriously for the major western colonial powers. It is difficult to escape the irony that the end of European colonialism mirrored its beginning in that the nation-state that led the way in the fifteenth century, Portugal, emerged again in the early 1970s as the last remaining European colonial power. But its empire also disappeared shortly thereafter. Why this general European imperial collapse?	1
Those scholars who favor a nationalist interpretation C such as Stuart C. Easton in The Rise and Fall of Western Colonialism (1964), Henri Grimal in Decolonization: the British, French, Dutch and Belgian Empires (1978), and D.A. Low in Eclipse of Empire (1993) C emphasize that popular revolt among indigenous peoples prepared the way for decolonization. Likewise, the disappearance of European-educated native elites who had been prone to collaborate with the mother country rendered continued European dominance untenable. A second group of historians C among them W. David McIntyre in Commonwealth of Nations: Origins and Impact (1977) and Brian Lapping in End of Empire (1985) C favor the international explanation for imperial disengagement. They stress the wartime expansion of Japan from 1940-42, demonstrating how relatively easily European control in Southeast Asia could be thrust aside. Also important was the postwar predominance of the United States and the Soviet Union, both hostile to traditional imperialism, albeit for different ideological reasons. The internationalist school also points to the pressure exerted on colonialist powers through international organizations like the United Nations. And finally, a third approach is adopted by scholars C such as Miles Kahler in Decolonization in Britain and France: the Domestic Consequences of International Relations (1984) and R.F. Holland in European Decolonization, 1918-1981: An Introductory Survey (1985) C who favor a metropolitan interpretation by focusing on the domestic consequences of continuing imperial policies. These scholars argue that after 1945, empires became too much of a burden for the mother country and could no longer be justified on the basis of economic or strategic advantage. From this point of view, the will to rule gradually dissipated among key domestic political constituencies.	2
In the main body of his study, the author has rejected a strict chronological examination of his subject in favor of a geographical organization. Separate chapters are devoted to South East Asia, South Asia and the Middle East, Africa and the Caribbean, White-Settler Africa, and a short analysis of the remnants of empire such as the Falkland Islands and New Caledonia. An excellent concluding chapter revisits the three interpretive schools of thought and encourages readers to reexamine them in light of the evidence provided in the middle section of the book. As a university professor who regularly teaches courses in twentieth century European history and the history of modern European foreign policy, I can readily envision adopting Springhall's volume as a subsidiary text that offers students a comprehensive treatment of a major thread of historical development. The book could also be used to facilitate a research assignment by having students read the first two chapters and the last chapter. Then the students might select one of the former European colonies discussed in the middle chapters for a test case analysis of the various historiographical approaches presented in the book. The bibliography provides ample suggestions for further reading and research. In sum, Decolonization since 1945 presents a brief and clearly-focused summary of the end of overseas European imperial dominance. It will be useful for students and teachers of modern history and international relations.	3
Cleveland State University William I. Shorrock

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