SUMMARY
The constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands currently consists of the European territories of the Netherlands and a few small overseas territories (the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba). Since 1946 the Netherlands have experienced the extra-state and interstate categories of UCDP organized violence.
Main text
The Dutch position as a powerful trading and seafaring nation in the 16th to 18th centuries allowed the kingdom to acquire a significant number of colonies, primarily in Asia where present-day Indonesia, Taiwan and Sri Lanka (to name but a few territories) came under Dutch control. The Dutch lost many of their colonies to rival European nations when France and the United Kingdom rose to colonial prominence in the 18th and 19th centuries, but managed to retain control over Indonesia (most importantly) and other smaller dominions.
The Second World War weakened the Netherlands’ hold on Indonesia as these islands were occupied by the Japanese during the war. After the end of the war Indonesia declared independence whilst the Dutch attempted to reclaim the territory lost to the Japanese. These different aspirations led to an extra-state armed conflict between 1946 and 1949 as the Netherlands and the Indonesian People’s Army fought over Indonesian territory. Under pressure from the international community the Netherlands acquiesced to Indonesian demands and most of present-day Indonesia became independent in 1949, with only what was called West New Guinea remaining under Dutch rule. In the decades that followed the Netherlands granted independence to a number of other colonies, thereby avoiding further potential armed struggles for self-rule.
The continuing Dutch control of West New Guinea clashed with Indonesian ambitions, with the latter country wishing to annex this Dutch dominion. The Dutch were preparing West New Guinea for independence when an interstate armed conflict erupted between the Netherlands and Indonesia in 1962 over the status of the territory. After negotiations, the territory was handed over to a temporary UN administration before being annexed by Indonesia in 1963.
Since the 1990s the Netherlands have given secondary warring support to a number of military endeavors. The country supported the government of Kuwait in 1991 through taking part in the multinational coalition that supported Kuwait against Iraq. Some 10 years later the Netherlands again intervened in Iraq, this time by supporting the government of Iraq in the intrastate conflict against various insurgent groups that began in 2004.
In Afghanistan the Netherlands gave secondary warring support to UIFSA (United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan) in its 2001 intrastate conflict with the Taleban government of Afghanistan. Following on the allied victory over the Taleban, the Netherlands also gave secondary warring support to the government of Afghanistan in the armed conflict against the Taleban insurgents that began in 2003. The Netherlands have at times also given secondary warring support to the USA in that country’s intrastate conflict with al-Qaida which began in 2001.
Since 1946 the Netherlands have experienced the extra-state and interstate categories of UCDP organized violence.
