Australia’s policy towards Britain’s end of empire in Southeast Asia influenced the course of this decolonization in the region. In this book, Andrea Benvenuti discusses the development of Australia’s foreign and defence policies towards Malaya and Singapore in light of the redefinition of Britain’s imperial role in Southeast Asia and the formation of new post-colonial states. Placed within the emerging literature on the global impact of the Cold War, the book sheds new light on the choices made – by Australia, by Britain and the new emerging states – in these crucial years.

"Benvenuti paints a careful and convincing portrait of an Australia that engaged difficult and finely balanced problems of Cold War and decolonization in Southeast Asia with sober maturity, and adjusted effectively to volatile and changing conditions.... An important recasting of a pivotal chapter in Cold War, Southeast Asian, and Australian history." - Brian P. Farrell, National University of Singapore

Andrea Benvenuti is a senior lecturer in International Relations and European Studies at the School of Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of New South Wales, Australia.

320 pages, 229mm x 152mm
Paperback