Imperial Expansion and Intercultural Diplomacy: Treaty-making in Southeast Asia, c.1750−1920

This collaborative research project in Global and Diplomatic History investigates the often overlooked role of treaties in imperial expansion.

By systematically analysing all of the around 600 bilateral treaties concluded between a European, American or Japanese imperial power and a Southeast Asian polity between c.1750 and c.1920, the project aims to develop new theories for understanding modern imperialism.The first part of the research studies the contents and character of the original treaty documents, available in Asian, European and American archives, and systematically analyses the different translations and versions at hand as well as the inter-cultural, literal and symbolic, meanings of the treaties.

The second part consists of an in-depth study of around twelve treaty-making processes involving a sequence of treaties between two or more parties over a long period of time.

Based on first-hand archival sources, the research aims to unravel the motivations and priorities of the different Asian, European and American actors involved in the treaty negotiations.

Third, the project uses the empirical data to develop new theories and concepts.All available versions of the treaties are published openly online along with the results of the project’s research.

The program thus contributes to spread knowledge about some of the most fundamental source documents in the making of the modern world, whose influence continues to reverberate throughout the world today.