The International Order of Asia in the 1930s and 1950s

摘要

This is a major contribution to the rethinking of the modern economic history of East Asia brought about mostly by Japanese scholars, though the title is slightly misleading in the sense that it is not a geopolitical concern but a matter pertaining to regional economies only. The collection of 11 essays, which is the result of a panel discussion at the International Economic History Congress in Buenos Aires in July 2002, brings together a rich selection of perspectives, examining economic development in Asia both nationally and internationally in the 1930s and 1950s, with the British Empire/Commonwealth at the centre of the stage. Presented by the two British historians PJ. Cain and A.J. Hopkins, Britain's pursuit of her colonial interests in Asia is seen here as "gentlemanly capitalism".