This talk deals with the issue of United States policy toward the development of Southeast Asia regionalism during the Cold War when the United States became increasingly engaged militarily on the mainland of Southeast Asia, but some American officials were contemplating the need for regional arrangements to maintain stability after a future American military withdrawal. This stability was to be in the form of economic development – a continuous and integral aspect to post-War American strategies and policies during an era of massive military expansion.

Sue Thompson is a lecturer at the National Security College in Crawford School of Public Policy. Her focus of research is Western security policies in Southeast Asia during the Cold War and she has published widely on this subject. She recently published a book on this topic entitled, British Military Withdrawal and the Rise of Regional Co-operation in South-East Asia, 1964-75 and is now currently researching her second book on American policy on Southeast Asian regionalism, the topic of this seminar.

The Crawford School Research Seminar (CSRS) is a forum for scholars from across Crawford School of Public Policy to share their research and receive input from faculty and doctoral candidates on works-in-progress.