External Intervention and the Politics of State Formation : China, Indonesia, and Thailand, 1893–1952

This book explores ways in which foreign intervention and external rivalries can affect the institutionalization of governance in weak states. When sufficiently competitive, foreign rivalries in a weak state can actually foster the political centralization, territoriality, and autonomy associated with state sovereignty. This counterintuitive finding comes from studying the collective effects of foreign contestation over a weak state as informed by changes in the expected opportunity cost of intervention for outside actors. When interveners associate high opportunity costs with intervention, they bolster sovereign statehood as a next best alternative to their worst fear – domination of that polity by adversaries. Sovereign statehood develops if foreign actors concurrently and consistently behave this way toward a weak state. This book evaluates that argument against three “least likely” cases – China, Indonesia, and Thailand between the late nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries. Cover External Intervention and the Politics of State Formation Dedication Title Copyright Contents Abbreviations Acknowledgements CHAPTER 1: Moulding the Institutions of Governance: Theories of State Formation and the Contingency of Sovereignty in Fragile Polities SOVEREIGN STATEHOOD IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE EAST ASIA AND THE CONTINGENCY OF SOVEREIGN STATEHOOD IN THE PERIPHERY STATE FORM AND SOVEREIGEN STATEHOOD PERIODISATION AND CASE SELECTION Data and Evidence CONCLUSION CHAPTER 2: Imposing States: Foreign Rivalries, Local Collaboration, and State Form in Peripheral Polities A THEORY OF ACCESS, INTERVENTION, AND STATE FORMATION ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATIONS Nationalism, Norms, and Ideology Institutional Commitment and Economic Transformation Bellicism, Capital, and Coercion THEORY TESTING STATE FORM AND PERSPECTIVES ON SYSTEMS CHANGE CHAPTER 3: Feudalising the Chinese Polity, 1893–1922: Assessing the Adequacy of Alternative Takes on State Reorganisation “SEMICOLONIALISM”, FEUDALISATION, AND THE LIMITS OF DISINTEGRATION Fragmentation and Central Government Authority Territorial Exclusivity and Foreign Administration External Autonomy and China’s Diplomatic Independence China as a Feudalised State CHINA’S FEUDALISATION, COMPETING ACCOUNTS Nationalism and Self-Determination Exogenous Shocks and Patterns of Political Support Regional Accumulation of Capital and Coercion EXTERNAL INTERVENTION AND CHINA’S FEUDALISATION Centralisation, Fragmentation, and Major Power Influence Outsiders and the Preservation of Limited Territorial Exclusivity External Autonomy CONCLUSION CHAPTER 4: External Influence and China’s Feudalisation, 1893–1922: Opportunity Costs and Patterns of Foreign Intervention RELATIVE DECLINE AND BRITAIN’S EFFORTS TO KEEP AN OPEN DOOR AJAR BRITAIN’S REVISED OPEN DOOR ACCESS AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT RULE: CHINA AND AMERICAN ASCENDANCE America’s Open Door Option JAPAN AND INFORMAL IMPERIALISM IN CHINA JAPAN’S CAUTIOUS ACCESS REGULATION RUSSIA AND THE ENDS OF EMPIRE ACCESS REGULATION BY PROXY GERMANY, FRANCE, AND OTHER CONTENTDERS Germany France Other Powers MAJOR POWER RIVALRIES AND THE FUNDAMENTS OF FEUDALISATION CONCLUSIONS CHAPTER 5: The Evolution of Foreign Involvement in China, 1923–1952: Rising Opportunity Costs and Convergent Approaches to Intervention JAPAN AND ITS IMPERIAL EXPERIMENT TOKYO’S ROBUST ACCESS DENIAL EFFORTS AN END TO BRITISH PROMINENCE A Strained Defence of the “Open Door” DENYING PRIVILEGED ACCESS AND AMERICA’S INVOLVEMENT IN CHINA Inattention and Open Access THE SOVIET UNION AND ITS ROLE IN CHINA Moscow’s Differentiated Approach to Access Denial GERMANY IN CHINA Berlin Tries to Regain Equal Access FRANCE AND ACCESS IN CHINA French Nonchalance CONCLUSION CHAPTER 6: How Intervention Remade the Chinese State, 1923–1952: Foreign Sponsorship and the Building of Sovereign China CONVERGING PERCEPTIONS ABOUT THE HIGH OPPORTUNITY COSTS OF INTERVENTION BEHIND FEUDALISED "SEMI-COLONISATION" Political Centralisation Territorial Exclusivity External Autonomy MARCH TO SOVEREIGN STATEHOOD Political Centralisation Territorial Exclusivity External Autonomy ALTERNATIVE TAKES ON CHINA'S MOVEMENT TO SOVEREIGN STATEHOOD Nationalism and Self-Determination Norms Institutional Commitments and Rising Peasant Prominence Whither Capitalised Coercion CONCLUSION CHAPTER 7: Creating Indonesia, 1893–1952: Major Power Rivalry and the Making of Sovereign Statehood CONTINUITY AND THE DUTCH COLONIAL STATE IN THE EAST INDIES, 1893–1922 Opportunity Cost Expectations and Patterns in External Involvement Dutch Opportunity Costs Perceptions and Rule in the Late Colonial East Indies Colonialism as Access Regulation Britain and Access Denial in the East Indies Japan and the United States France, Germany, and Russia State Form in the Netherlands Indies under Late Colonial Rule Political Centralisation Territorial Exclusivity External Autonomy RISING OPPORTUNITY COSTS AND A SOVEREIGN INDONESIA, 1923–1952 External Intervention under Rising Cost Expectations The Growth of Opportunity Costs and Dutch Acceptance of Nonprivileged Access Access Regulation under Pressure Tokyo’s Imperial Gamble and Changing Japanese Opportunity Cost Expectations America’s Search for Nonprivileged Access and Washington’s Anticipation of Rising Net Gains Britain and the East Indies The Soviet Union and Limited Role in the East Indies External Intervention and the Rise of the Indonesian Republic State Form in the Interwar Years Institutions of Governance and the Japanese Interregnum Revolution and Beyond ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATIONS Nationalism and Self-Determination Bellicism and State Formation Institutional Commitments and Institutions of Governance CONCLUSION CHAPTER 8: Siam Stands Apart, 1893–1952: External Intervention and Rise of a Sovereign Thai State OUTSIDE PRESSURE AND SIAM'S PATH TOWARD SOVEREIGN STATEHOOD, 1893–1922 Expectations of High Opportunity Cost and the Limits to Intervention High Opportunity Cost Expectations, Nonprivileged Access, and the Fringes of the British Empire Ensuring Nonprivileged Access and the Limits to French Colonial Expansion Other Powers External Forces and Sovereign State Formation, 1893–1922 Political Centralisation Territorial Exclusivity External Autonomy SUSTAINING THE SOVEREIGN THAI STATE, 1922–1952 The Major Powers and Expectations of Rising Opportunity Costs The Evolution of Anglo-French Opportunity Costs Expectations and Access Competition Opportunity Cost Expectations and the Tempering of Japanese Imperialism External Involvement in Consolidating Sovereign Statehood EXTERNAL AUTONOMY TERRITORIAL EXCLUSIVITY POLITICAL CENTRALISATION ALTERNATIVE PERSPECTIVES Bellicism and State Form Institutional Commitment and State Formation Self-Determination and Nationalism CONCLUSION CHAPTER 9: Domesticating International Relations, Externalising Comparative Politics: Foreign Intervention and the State in World Politics EXTERNAL POWERS, LOCAL ACTORS, AND THE MARKET FOR INTERVENTION The Supply and Demand of External Intervention Foreign Intervention, Local Collaboration, and State Form INTERVENTION AND STATE FORMATION TODAY NATIONALISM MAY BE OVERSTATED PATHS FOR FURTHER ENQUIRY PARTING BLOWS Appendix: Questions for Focused, Structured Comparisons References Index This Book Posits That When Foreign Actors Face High Opportunity Costs Of Intervention In A Weak State, Their Behavior May Foster State Sovereignty-- Machine Generated Contents Note: 1. Molding The Institutions Of Governance: Theories Of State Formation And The Contingency Of Sovereignty In Fragile Polities; 2. Imposing States: Foreign Rivalries, Local Collaboration, And State Form In Peripheral Polities; 3. Feudalizing The Chinese Polity, 1893-1922: Assessing The Adequacy Of Alternative Takes On State-reorganization; 4. External Influence And China's Feudalization, 1893-1922: Opportunity Costs And Patterns Of Foreign Intervention; 5. The Evolution Of Foreign Involvement In China, 1923-52: Rising Opportunity Costs And Convergent Approaches To Intervention; 6. How Intervention Remade The Chinese State, 1923-52: Foreign Sponsorship And The Building Of Sovereign China; 7. Creating Indonesia, 1893-1952: Major Power Rivalry And The Making Of Sovereign Statehood; 8. Siam Stands Apart, 1893-1952: External Intervention And Rise Of A Sovereign Thai State; 9. Domesticating International Relations, Externalizing Comparative Politics: Foreign Intervention And The State In World Politics. Ja Ian Chong. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. This book posits that when foreign actors face high opportunity costs of intervention in a weak state, their behavior may foster state sovereignty. Ja Ian Chong augments existing perspectives on nationalism, sovereignty and state formation by introducing insights on foreign intervention and local collaboration.