After a short overview of the historical relevance of New Guinea within the Indies, the book describes how this previously relatively unimportant area becomes an object of bitter dispute during the negociations between the Dutch and the Indonesians in the period 1945-1949. The dynamic of the conflict in Dutch-Indonesian relations from 1951-1953 is described against the background of domestic political relations in both countries. The last chapter describes the role of the Irian issue in the world forum from 1953 to 1958, especially against the background of East-West relations.