The Wilsonian Moment

A clear and concise read. Unfortunately, Manela does not cover Wilson's impact on Southeast Asian nationalism and "limits" himself to Egypt, India, China, and Korea. Given France's centrality to the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, it would have been nice if he'd looked at a French colony, like Indochina, for instance. Still, it's not hard to imagine how the Wilsonian moment played itself out in Vietnam, the East Indies, and Burma. Manela starts off the book with an anecdote on Ho Chi Minh in Paris that I shall use in the future. It's a pity that the syllabus is so inward-looking and regards the influence of external developments on the development of nationalism as peripheral, i.e. as worthy of only passing mention in essays.
Posted by kungfuzi at 9:50 pm |