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COLONIALISM, NEO-COLONIALISM & IMPERIALISM:Judging Colonization

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International Relations-PSC 201
VU
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.
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International Relations-PSC 201
VU
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
Table of Contents:
  1. WHAT IS INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND WHAT IS ITS RELEVANCE?
  2. APPROACHES TO INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: THEORIES IN IR
  3. APPROACHES TO INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS:Traditional Approach
  4. THE NATION-STATE SYSTEM:Further Evolution of Nation-State
  5. THE NATION STATE SYSTEM: BASIC FEATURES OF A NATION-STATE
  6. NATIONAL INTEREST:Criteria for Defining National Interest
  7. NATIONAL INTEREST:Variations in National Interest, Relevant Vocabulary
  8. BALANCE OF POWER (BOP):BoP from a historical perspective
  9. BALANCE OF POWER (CONTINUED):Degree of Polarization, Functions of BoP
  10. DIPLOMACY:How Diplomacy Functions, Traditional Versus Modern Diplomacy
  11. DIPLOMACY (CONTINUED):Diplomatic Procedures & Practices, Functions of Diplomacy
  12. COLONIALISM, NEO-COLONIALISM & IMPERIALISM:Judging Colonization
  13. COLONIALISM, NEO-COLONIALISM & IMPERIALISM:Types of Neo-Colonialism
  14. COLONIALISM, NEO-COLONIALISM & IMPERIALISM:Objectives of Imperialism
  15. NEW INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ORDER:Criticism of IEO, NIEO Activities
  16. NEW INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ORDER:Prerequisites for the NIEO
  17. NON-ALIGNMENT MOVEMENT:Origin of NAM, NAM’s Institutional Structure
  18. NON-ALIGNMENT MOVEMENT (CONTINUED):Cairo Summit, Egypt - 1964
  19. NON-ALIGNMENT MOVEMENT:Criticism of NAM, NAM and Pakistan
  20. THE COLD WAR AND ITS IMPACTS - INTRODUCING THE COLD WAR PHENOMENON
  21. THE COLD WAR AND ITS IMPACTS (CONTINUED):Truman Doctrine, Marshal Plan
  22. THE COLD WAR AND ITS IMPACTS (CONTINUED):End of the Cold War
  23. DISARMAMENT AND ARMS CONTROL:History of Disarmament
  24. DISARMAMENT AND ARMS CONTROL (CONTINUED):Other Disarmament Efforts
  25. THE RELEVANCE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
  26. THE RELEVANCE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS (CONTINUED)
  27. INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS:Need for IGOs, Categorizing IGOs
  28. INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS (CONTINUED):United Nations, Criticism of the UN
  29. INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS (CONTINUED):European Union, World Bank
  30. THE ROLE OF DECISION MAKING IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
  31. DECISION MAKING (CONTINUED):Rational Actor Model, Group Politics Model
  32. SYSTEMS APPROACH TO IR:Underlying Assumptions, Elements of the System
  33. SYSTEMS BASED APPROACH (CONTINUED) – DISTINCT SYSTEMS IN IR
  34. LIBERALISM AND SOCIAL DEMOCRACY:Neoliberalism
  35. LIBERALISM AND SOCIAL DEMOCRACY (CONTINUED):Liberalism vs. Social Democracy
  36. INTEGRATION IN IR:Preconditions for Integration, Assessing Integration
  37. GLOBALIZATION AND ITS IMPLICATIONS:Advocates of Globalization
  38. THE GLOBAL DIVIDE:World Social Forum, Can the Global Divide Be Bridged?
  39. FOCUS ON FOREIGN INVESTMENTS:Pro-poor Foreign Investments
  40. CONFLICT AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION:Components of a Conflict
  41. CONFLICT RESOLUTION:Creative response, Appropriate assertiveness
  42. THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT:Global Concern for the Environment
  43. THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT:Environmental Concerns and IR, Some Other Issues
  44. HOW IR DIFFER FROM DOMESTIC POLITICS?:Strategies for altering state behavior
  45. CHANGE AND IR:Continuity in IR, Causality and counterfactuals, IR in a nutshell