´Legitimizing the Dutch empire 1945-9´
Summary
[""This research sets out to explore the interpretive frameworks of Dutch public discourse
during the decolonization war (1945-9) in Indonesia, using security culture as an analytical
framework. Especially in context to the end of WWII in the Netherlands, and the five years of
occupation that the Dutch had endured by Nazis, the question will be raised how a democratic
Dutch government and Dutch media used rhetoric and discourse to make sense of the colonial
war’s realities, and how they legitimized the colonial war to the public. The main argument is
that the Dutch government and media developed the pre-existing security culture, which was
still reflective of the previous world order, to serve as a legitimization framework for the
colonial war in Indonesia. In this way, the Dutch were able to ‘sell’ the necessity and
importance to the Dutch public, as the public was not interested in the Indonesian National
Revolution (INR) during the beginning phase of the conflict."]