Theorizing Asia: An Introduction

Abstract

thEorizing AsiA: An introduCtion AlEx tAEk-gwAng lEE In The Age of Extremes, Eric Hobsbawm suggested the term "short twentieth century" to consider the extreme experiences of the century. The period refers to seventy-eight years between 1914 to 1991, beginning with the First World War and ending with the collapse of the Soviet Union. The fall of the German, Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian, and Russian empires during the First World War paved the way for the Second. When the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Japan in 1941, it appeared that the war had come to an end, with the Allies' "justice league" destroying the Fascist alliance. Contrary to common belief, Hobsbawm emphasized that "the Second World War had barely ended when humanity plunged into what can reasonably be regarded as a Third World War" (1994, 226). After the fall of the Japanese Empire, the United States' most pressing mission in Asia was to build an anti-communist defense line rather than decolonize the countries. In Japan, the US enjoyed establishing "a completely unilateral occupation that excluded the USSR and any other co-belligerent" (227). While Europe settled into postwar conditions, the war did not end in Asia. Ironically, the end of World War II meant the beginning of civil wars in the area. As Hobsbawm pointed out, Asia was "the zone in which the two superpowers continued, throughout the Cold War, to compete for support and influence, and hence the major zone of friction between them, and indeed the one where armed conflict was most likely, and actually broke out" (227). This geopolitical confrontation resulted in widespread violence in the region. For Asians, the end of World War II did not signal the end of the conflict but rather the beginning of a new one. It all started with the people's yearning for nation-building following Japan's defeat in World War II. For example, the Korean people wanted to build a nation-state at the time, but the situation forced them to separate into two regimes-North and South Korea. The US policy to "roll back" communism introduced the cruel division of people, divided into the inclusive group and the exclusive group by the rule of anti-communism. This violent operation rolled out in many places in the Global South. The United States' overseas policy did not aim to build a democratic regime in the areas but prioritized