Southeast Asian perceptions of U.S. security policy in the post-Cold War era

Abstract

The end of the Cold War has changed the political environment in Southeast Asia and the parameters in which United States policy makers previously worked within are no longer the same. The United States' strategies are based on assumptions of how the rest of the world perceives it, but the views of other nations may not concur with the United States policy maker's assumptions. This thesis is concerned with the United States policy in Southeast Asia and brings to light the Southeast Asians' perceptions of the issues in which the United States is formulating its national security policies; how the negative perceptions differ from American assumptions: and offer suggestions on how to deal with the differences. The aim of this thesis is to provide security policy makers with information that could be used in exercising judgment to find solutions to current, and prospective. policy problems in Southeast Asia. It produces policy-relevant information that may be used to resolve specific policy problem, and pursue preferable courses of action in the region. Ibis thesis shows a single policy towards Southeast Asia is misguided. Each state in the region has its own interests, and American policies must be formulated with each individual state, one by one.