Base building by invitation. The Origins of American military bases in the Netherlands 1945-1960.

American overseas military bases are an important part of American foreign policy since the Second World War. From Asia to Europe, the American armed forces have an important military presence on every continent. After September 11 2001, there has been a renewed discussion on the American overseas presence. Questions such as if overseas bases are harmful to American policy and why does the United States continue to maintain such a large presence after the end of the Cold War are prevalent in this debate. While there has been some research into the origins of American military bases in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, a detailed study of the origins of American military bases in the Netherlands was lacking. This thesis aims to contribute to the current debate about American overseas bases by examining the origins of these bases in the Netherlands. The central question of the thesis is why did the United States establish military bases in the Netherlands and why did the Dutch government agree to this. The period examined is 1945 to 1960. 1960 was chosen as the end date because social and political relations in both the Netherlands and the United States changed after 1960. The thesis explains the base building by using Lundestad’s Empire by Invitation thesis and examining American bases in the Netherlands through this lens using both existing literature and primary sources from both the Netherlands and the United States. First the thesis examines theories, mainly Calder’s Embattled Garrisons and Harkavy’s Bases Abroad, regarding overseas bases and uses their explanatory power on the Dutch case. The origins of American overseas basing are examined and the possible alternatives instead of a large system of bases, such as those presented during the Second World War, are used to explain why the United States established military bases in Europe on a large scale. The legal and political framework of the bases and the strategic benefits of overseas basing are examined. The first part of the thesis focuses on American interests in Europe and the Netherlands during the Truman and Eisenhower administrations. Also political and economic changes that affected base building for the United States are examined. The second part of the thesis examines the Dutch perspective and places the Dutch invitation to the United States in the context of a larger European political environment. The diplomacy the Netherlands employed and the social and political dimensions of base building in the Netherlands as host state will also play an important role. The thesis concludes by arguing that the Netherlands invited the United States to establish military bases in the Netherlands because this would increase the ability of the Netherlands to affect European politics and because this would provide more security for the Netherlands since it could not support an armed force strong enough to defend its own territory and ensure that (NATO) defense plans would view the Netherlands as strategically valuable because of the established American bases.