Dependent Independence The U.S. Informal Empire in the Philippines, 1946-1954

After the Second World War, the United States took the lead in creating a new world order. The events of September 11, 2001 have caused a renewed attention in academic debates to the U.S. role in the world order. Although most scholars agree that the U.S. has manifested itself as an empire, there is no conformity on what kind of empire it is. This paper aims to contribute to this debate by analyzing U.S. influence in the Philippines, a former colony of the U.S., in its first years of independence from 1946 to 1954. The Philippines are an interesting case, because the U.S. voluntarily decided to give up colonial rule. Despite that, the U.S. continued to exercise a large amount of control over the Philippines. This paper argues that U.S. control over the Philippines shaded from formal imperialism during the colonial times to informal imperialism after independence. The argument is split up in an analysis of three key areas of U.S. influence over the Philippines: national politics, economic influence, and military influence. First, this thesis analyzes U.S. influence over Philippine national politics. The U.S. aimed to maintain a pro-U.S. government in the Philippines, as this would enable them to influence policies in accordance with U.S. interests. Influence over Philippine politics enabled the U.S. to close a series of treaties and agreements which enlarged the U.S. influence in the economic and military sphere. Second, the paper analyzes U.S. economic influence over the Philippines. The U.S. sought and managed to maintain the economic dependence of the Philippines on the U.S and continued to exert control over Philippine economic policy. Third, this thesis will analyze U.S. military influence over the Philippines. The Philippines became of major strategic value in U.S. Cold War policy. The U.S. and the Philippines closed an agreement to maintain U.S. military bases in the Philippines, which became essential in U.S. containment policy in Southeast Asia. Moreover, the fear of communism led the U.S. to focus on the containment of the Huk rebellion in the Philippines. All in all, Philippine independence was compromised as the U.S. continued to exercise a substantive amount of control in all these key areas. The Philippines are therefore a clear example of the establishment of U.S. informal imperialism.