The Fear of ‘Yellow Peril’ and the Emergence of European Federalist Movement

Abstract

ABSTRACTAs an outcome of the dialectical narrative of European superiority in the nineteenth century (expressed in racial terms), the military and economic development of Japan and China created anxieties that have been shown to have a place in the history of Europe from the 1890s to the late 1930s. The term ‘yellow peril’ gave descriptive value to this anxiety. This essay argues that fear of the ‘yellow peril’ contributed to the emergence of the European federalist movement between the early 1900s and the 1930s. Fear of the ‘yellow peril’ was not the only factor responsible for the emergence of federalist movements, but operated alongside numerous other influences and discourses, many of which historians have identified. My concentration on the ‘yellow peril’ is due to its complete neglect by historians to date.