Decolonization in Asia During the Early Cold War Era: the Case of Vietnam, 1945-1954
After the Second World War, two confrontation systems led by the United States and the Soviet Union were established. The two superpowers played decisive roles that affected all international relations, involving many regions and nations in a new form of war - the Cold War. Although it was called the ‘Cold War’, the atmosphere of the world was not ‘cold’ at all. The local conflicts between the U.S. forces and the Soviet Union’s allies happened in many regions. With the formation and competition between communism and capitalism, Vietnam’s decolonization struggle was put into a spiral and affected by the profound influence of this context. This article draws on Vietnamese official documents and materials to show that the process of decolonization in Vietnam lasted longer and fiercer because of not only the French government’s determination to reestablish its old colonial rule but also the Cold War. The fear of communism coverage throughout Asia and the world led to the ballooned aid from Washington to the French army in Indochina during the 1950s. Meanwhile, China and the Soviet Union provided military and economic assistance to Vietnam. The Vietnamese struggle for independence became not only a centre of the Cold War in Asia but also the critical front worldwide and «hot» competition to determine the result of the two rival ideological systems. The Cold War impacted the Anti-French resistance in Vietnam, and by contrast, the Vietnamese struggle had a profound impact on France. During the war in Indochina, the international image of France was damaged and the political situation was unstable. The decolonization process, therefore, forced the Paris government into seeking solutions to stabilize the political and economic situation as well as enhance its prestigious position and integrate into Europe.