COLONIALISM, NEO-COLONIALISM & IMPERIALISM:Judging Colonization

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International Relations-PSC 201

LESSON 12

COLONIALISM, NEO-COLONIALISM & IMPERIALISM

Colonialism is an elusive concept. It is a political, a legal, an economic, a cultural and a social phenomenon,

which does not lend itself to a short and clear definition. While colonizing states refrained from defining

colonialism, many scholars of various disciplines have written about the subject.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the mid-14th century "colonye" was used to describe the

Roman settling, creating outposts, or occupying lands outside the Roman city-state. Colonialism emerged

around the 19th century to reify a European practice that was becoming prevalent across the world.

Defining Colonialism

The element of 'alien domination' appears to be at the heart of the colonial experience. Colonialism is

foreign rule imposed upon a people. Colonialism is a system in which a state claims sovereignty over

territory and people outside its own boundaries, often to facilitate economic domination over their

resources, labor, and often markets.

Colonialism can be defined as rule over people of different races living in separate lands by a single colonial

power. Colonialism also refers to a set of beliefs used to legitimize or promote this system, especially the

belief that the values and systems of the colonizer are superior to those of the colonized. Colonialism can

thus be seen to imply domination of an alien minority asserting racial and cultural superiority over a

materially inferior majority. Hobson describes colonialism `in its best sense' as the natural outflow of

nationality, its test is the power of the colonizer to transplant the civilization they represent to a new social

and cultural environment.

Judging Colonization

Defenders of colonialism argue that colonization developed the economic and political infrastructure

necessary for modernization and democracy (they point to former colonies like Singapore as examples of

post-colonial success).

Post colonialist such as Franz Fanon argue that colonialism does political, psychological, and moral damage

to the colonized as well.

Let us consider the case of British colonist for example. The British Empire, in the early decades of the 20th

century, held sway over a population of 400500 million people - roughly a quarter of the world's

population - and covered roughly two-fifths of the world's land area.

The British Empire came together over 300 years through a succession of phases of expansion, interspersed

with intervals of pacific commercial and diplomatic activity, or imperial contraction. Its territories were

scattered across all parts of the world, and it was described with some truth as "the empire on which the sun

never sets". The Empire facilitated the spread of British technology, commerce, language, and government

around much of the globe. Imperial hegemony contributed to Britain's extraordinary economic growth, and

greatly strengthened its voice in world affairs. Even as Britain extended its imperial reach overseas, it

continued to develop and broaden democratic institutions at the homeland.

From the perspective of the colonies, the record of the British Empire is mixed. The colonies received from

Britain the English language, an administrative and legal framework on the British model, and technological

and economic development. During decolonization, Britain sought to pass parliamentary democracy to its

colonies, with varying degrees of success.

British colonial policy was always driven to a large extent by Britain's trading interests. While settler

economies developed the infrastructure to support balanced development, tropical African territories found

them developed only as raw-material suppliers. A reliance upon the manipulation of conflict between ethnic

and racial identities, in order to keep subject populations from uniting against the occupying power - the

classic "divide and rule" strategy - left a legacy of partition or inter-communal difficulties in several parts of

the world including the Subcontinent.

International Relations-PSC 201

Decolonization

Decolonization is the antithesis of colonization. While anti-colonialist feeling first manifested in the 18th c.

(in the US), decolonization is a product of the post-WW II period. Nationalism in Latin America, Asia and

Africa, as well as the weakening of the colonial powers helped achieve decolonization.

The UN played an important role in ending colonial rule in Indonesia and certain African colonies. It

particularly helped decolonize Liberia, Somalia and Eritrea from Italy.

Relevant Vocabulary

Elusive: hard to describe

Refrain: desist or avoid

Antithesis: exact opposite

Infrastructure: established system (of communication for example)

Prevalent: widespread

Suggested Readings

Students are advised to read the following chapters to develop a better understanding of the various

principals highlighted in this hand-out:

Chapter 14 in `"A Study of International Relations" by Dr. Sultan Khan.

Internet Resources

In addition to reading from the textbook, please visit the following web-pages for this lecture, which

provide useful and interesting information:

Colonialism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonialism

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