Globalization as Neo Colonialism
When in the 1950s and 60s, most colonized countries and territories across the world threw off the yolk of colonialism, there was tremendous hope and anticipation that a new era of hope, independence, freedom and self – determination was about to unfold. In most cases, it was with great reluctance that the colonial masters granted independence to their erstwhile colonies from where they had for generations held the total control that had enabled them to exploit human and material resources and perpetuate themselves in the social economic and political lives of their subjects. In Kenya and Algeria for instance, it was with extreme violence that independence was won. Thus, the Mau-Mau Movement of Kenya
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(The Chinese have just discovered this ice cream and have set about claiming their share with characteristic speed). The Gatlin guns are frozen. There are no more massacres like the 1904 Maji – Maji Revolt in Namibia where German troops systematically gunned down an estimated 60 – 80, 000 Africans. The Berlin Conference of 1884 – 1885 that partitioned Africa has been replaced by GATT, and in today’s parlance, the World Trade Organization. These days, African tribes do not need to be set upon each other while the colonial masters mop up colonies from where human and material resources were exploited. (We can do that all by ourselves, as we have demonstrated in Rwanda). The world has gone beyond such crudity. We call it free trade, and the final arbiter is the World Trade Organization whose aim is seemingly to allow a few rich countries and corporations dominate global capital and global resources. The colonial powers of today do not need military might and occupation to control the lives and destiny of billions of people in their former colonies. Perhaps in the not too distant future, Microsoft or Citi Group will have a seat on the United Nations. After all, these two companies alone generate more wealth every year than all of Africa’s 700 million people.
Incidentally, the globalization of capital and other related resources is a
The process of decolonization proved to have its own struggles within those who were seeking their independence from imperialist powers. Evidently, these nationalist movements were different in many regions, but they generally shared the sentiment that “Westernization” had taken something away from them. This proved to be the case in Africa and Asia, where the colonization movement from imperialist powers was of strong presence, and that had trouble weakening during and after the Cold War. Part of this struggle was due to the forms of government that were imposed, and because many of these colonies had been in this position for such long time that they were not able to predict upcoming conflicts after their independence. However, in many cases, the problems were more complicated and often implied a combination of reaction to westernization and internal conflicts. Undoubtedly,
Modern society should respond to the legacies and problems created by globalization in the past. Without these responses, relationships with indigenous peoples who were harmed from colonization will never be repaired. There is a popular belief that these should not be acted on because what occurred in the past can not be undone and is not the fault or burden of modern society. This proves to not be true because some issues from the past are just coming to light and being debated and responded to today. Examples of this would be the effect of residential schools on the Aboriginal community, and the debate of who land traditionally occupied by First Nations belongs to. If historical globalization is
The study of British colonialism is a rather new field with much to discuss and a lot more to debate. The recent recognition of new nation-states that were once under the control of Britain was a growing phenomenon and one that continues to play a large role in today’s global politics. Since the rather recent period of these new nations, new study’s have been done into the history of a) the peoples that inhabited the land before Britain, b) the way Britain occupied and control and land, and now c) post-Britain. This is a growing topic in the historical field because seventy-five years ago there was no thought that Britain would relieve control of India or Nigeria. That is why post-British colonialism is important to today, because it is a
Erez Manela’s The Wilsonian Moment Self-Determination and the International Origins of Anticolonial Nationalism is a monograph that attempts to reconstruct the story of colonial world at the end of Wilsonian moment. The book’s title, The Wilsonian Moment is alluding to the crucial period that lasted from autumn of 1918 to spring of 1919, when the Allied victory were confident that President Woodrow Wilson’s ideas for a new world will become successful until the terms of the Treaty of Versailles became public and the failure of the Wilson’s promise became evident. Erez Manela says, “The focus of this book is on the specific significance of Wilsonian moment in the colonial world, defined broadly as the dependent or semi dependent territories that encompassed at the time almost all of Asia and Africa”(8). Manela demonstrates how Woodrow Wilson’s post-war rhetoric on self-determination, a concept that firmly believes all nations should be able to determine for their futures and governance impacted several anti colonial movements by using Egypt, India, China, and Korea as case studies. In these case studies, Manela explicitly exhibits how colonized countries received and interpreted Wilson’s rhetoric, and applied it to their local struggle for independence. These four countries actively fought for their independence, but their arguments were dismissed at the Paris Peace Conference for different reasons. Manela tells us,” The “revolt against the West,” emerged “not from the
It therefore becomes difficult to integrate a country’s ‘independence’ and post-colonialism. On one hand post-colonialism is used to refer to the following periods after independence gained by the colonized nation and on the other hand post-colonialism is associated with opposing and resistance moves against colonial rule by the colonized nation. In this case, independence is only used to refer to the setup of a free government by the local people without the influence of the imperial power. It is however argued that even though the period of obtaining independence for a country is considered as a post-colonialism historic movement, it does not necessarily imply full independence from the influence of colonial rule (Ashcroft et al.,116). This takes into consideration that currently some countries even after obtaining independence in terms of the time period, they still rely on their colonial masters mainly for financial aid.
The truth is that imperialism was never idealistic. It has always been driven by economic or strategic interests.”
New Imperialism was the third wave of colonial expansion, precursored by Catholic colonialism in the sixteenth century and Mercantile colonialism in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. As the nineteenth century began, it became apparent that Europe and the United States were the dominant forces of the world, and that they were in control of defining global society. Proponents of New Imperialism believed that modern expansionism was necessary for economic, political, and cultural purposes that would benefit their own country. Furthermore, proponents also believed that colonization would modernize and incite progress in the civilizations outside of Europe and the United States. Nonetheless, New Imperialism established deep lines of contempt regarding Western power, marked with violence, throughout the world. Therefore, New Imperialism was a paltry act done by the Western world which seems to have produced little benefit.
In the late nineteenth century the European powers of the world began imperializing Africa. This annexation, occupation, and division of African territory has since led to much strife within the continent and has caused many struggles politically. This period known as the “Scramble for Africa” has led to the many problems that Africa faces today and has been the root of several wars in Africa to assume control. After World War II many European imperialists began to give African nations autonomy. This seemed like a step forward for African nations, but without any plan to transition into self governance many African nations have faced bloody civil wars and corruption. Along with political struggles, numerous African nations face rising debt and other economic problems. Many of these political and economic issues stem from the “Scramble for Africa”. Once the European countries left Africa had very little to support itself. To explain the issues left by imperialism the three African nations of Rwanda, South Africa, and Sierra Leone will be put under the scope.
In this essay I will be discussing the role of modern nationalism and how this ideology affected the transition from colonial rule to independence in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, as well as the problems that plagued them since 1945, and how these different nations have solved them. I will be specifically concentrating on the nations of India, Algeria, and Iran.
First, Africa was finally given a place in the international community because of New Imperialism. For hundreds of years, an entire fifth of the inhabited Earth was excluded from the world’s most important decisions. But because of New Imperialism, they were able to
With the increased sense of nationalism, the scramble for imperial holdings served to satisfy the craving for victory. The “us versus them,” mentality that played out over the course of imperialization distracted the common population from ongoing problems at home, thus earning their steadfast approval. Meanwhile, the upper echelons of society experienced gross financial gain, feeding their gluttony with the world’s ever dwindling resources. It was this partnership of a satisfied upper and lower class that encouraged the continuation of colonialism, thus ensuring colonies’ dependence on Western society and sealing their fates as ones of struggle and hardship under the European
The events that lead to decolonization are numerous and interlinking and vary widely from country to country. Three critical factors played a major role in the process: the people’s want for independence/mass nationalism, colonial peoples large scale participation in World War I and II, which exposed the discrepancy in living conditions, and the ascent of Japan as a significant military and imperial force.
Despite what present media depicts, the 1960s were more than just the typical white, “hippie”-based culture that seems to dominate interpretations of the time period; the revolutions occurring in the third world during this time shaped the ideas that led to counter culture’s success in the United States and other first world countries. The decolonization of many territories from European powerhouses characterized the beginning of the sixties. Due to the third world’s Marxist-like “liberation” from these imposing powers, a similar freeing of the minorities within the U.S. occurred. The colonies in Africa and similar countries could be compared with the minorities in the U.S., due to the oppressed nature of their living circumstances and the
What effect has decolonization brought? The decolonized nations cope with their own course of action on all fronts - economic, social, political and cultural. Even as they struggle to rid themselves of the shackles of the erstwhile influences, they try to regain touch with their ‘golden past’ and also believe in a brighter future. With centuries of economic exploitation to undo, it does seem to be a daunting task. However, colonial theorists like Frantz Fanon believe that the colony regaining its place in the order, returning to its hierarchic origin is but inevitable.
The writings of Karl Marx (1818-83), according to Mingst (1999), are fundamental to the Marxist school of thought, even though he did not directly state all the issues that are today encompassed by Marxism. The theory of Marx on the evolution of capitalism based on economic change and class conflict: the capitalism of nineteenth century