Neocolonialism: the Relationship Between Superpowers and the Developing World

Imperialism, or the takeover of a weaker nation by a stronger one, of the 19th century left a scar across Africa as European imperialists destroyed the traditional African way of life. This imperialism transformed into its milder form, intervention - the involvement of foreign powers in another nation which results in stronger powers - when foreign powers established economic spheres of influence in 19th century China, and still exists today in the form of U.S. foreign policy on international trade. This lighter form of imperialism was actually beneficial to the countries as it brought economic expansion and improvements. This is why Imperialism in the 19th century was not justified because of its detrimental effects on a country’s culture

Explain how theories, such as Dependency Theory and World Systems Theory can contribute to an understanding of changing patterns of global power.

At the turn of the 19th century, the US was in a position to become the superpower it is today, after winning the Spanish American War, a new US viewpoint came to mind, the one of an imperialist. The driving forces of US imperialism in the late 1800s to early 1900s were to have new markets for goods to be sold, military expansion through new bases around the globe, and a need to uplift foreign cultures to American “standards”.

Did you know the word imperialism is derived from the Latin verb "imperare", which means 'to command' and from the Roman concept of "imperium" (expansion). Imperialism was introduced in 1870 for the purpose of arranging footholds and trading posts on the coasts of Africa and China, exploring the New World, and settling down colonies in North and South America, before ending in 1914. The few leading nations were: United States of America, Great Britain, Japan, and Germany; and the prime developing nations were: Africa and China. With the background of imperialism, we still have this burning question: Was imperialism beneficial to developing nations? The answer is no, because it is important to realize, developing nations were stripped of their

Imperialism has been one of the most powerful forces in human history, serving to set the foundation of our modern world. While this has led to the formation of a global society where cultures, ideas, and innovations are spread across countries, imperialism has also left a history of exploitation, racism, and violence that is still affecting the world today. Imperial relationships are always imbalanced when it comes to power and influence; that is, one group (known as the metropole) maintains authority and control over another group (known as the periphery) with economic, political, and cultural dominance (Spiegel 2012). There are many reasons why one group chooses to dominate the other, such as expanding territory, extracting raw resources to fuel economic development, or to spread their beliefs (i.e. religion) (Spiegel 2012). In spite of these varied reasons, one of the main motivators for imperialism began with competition between empires.

As the saying goes, money makes the world go ‘round. Imperialism, the act of one country dominating another country’s power, is a prime example of money’s powerful impact on a country’s decision making, which often times has a global effect. European countries often imperialized African and Asian countries from the 1890’s to the 1910’s. From this, led to an outburst of countries wanting to imperialize other countries, especially industrialized countries looking to take advantage of non-industrialized countries. The potential economic profit available in non-industrialized countries motivated imperialists to take advantage of these countries’ resources.

Imperialism itself, although is sometimes meant to educate, is ultimately formed by an empire’s selfish desire to rule land. This is evident in the New Manifest destiny, carried out by the U.S, the British empire’s rule on several countries, as well as the Britain’s colonization of Africa many years ago that still takes a toll on them today. Although, in some cases imperialism is meant to educate instead of take-over. But, most countries who showed forms of imperialism had economic and strategic interests.

Neocolonialism and Sovereignty are closely related and go hand in hand in the texts. To start off sovereignty is defined as being a ruling power that has supreme power or authority over a country and its people. Similarly, neocolonialism is defined as a practice of using methods such as culture or economic pressures to influence a country. With neocolonialism the influence can extend militarily or political influence. Although both may not seem related, they go hand in hand in most situations. In the video “Crucible of Empire,” they discuss many of the ways the European powers and the United States used these principals in order to take advantage or control several countries.

This essay argues that 1991 was the peak of American power. The Berlin wall had fallen in 1989, and then the USSR had disbanded in 1991, making the US the only superpower in the world. In 1991 America had military and financial power of that other nations could only dream of. Cox then argues that American power declined from that point because nations have a finite lifespan. As a realist he argued that all great nations go into decline and no matter how “singular and exceptional a powerful nations qualities might be, it cannot, for ever, determine the way in which the international system operates”. Williams reviewed Cox and almost instantly argued against his theory. Cox states the traditional realist view of a rise and fall of national power, but Williams argues a more liberal view, that American power, while not being as dominant, is still a

Throughout American history, America has wielded its power worldwide through the use of different means, changing foreign and world affairs, and the course of history. From the late 19th century, America rose as a world power through the addition of new colonies like Puerto Rico, and its actions and influence in the world wars that allowed America and its allies to win both wars, and America to emerge as a superpower. America justified its rise as a world power from the Spanish-American War through World War II as necessary to oversee the world and transmit their ideas of democracy, and to defend and protect America’s interests.

“Monopolies, oligarchy, the striving for domination and not for freedom, the exploitation of an increasing number of small or weak nations by a handful of the richest or most powerful nations. All these have given birth to those distinctive characteristics of imperialism which compel us to define it as parasitic or decaying capitalism.” (Ulyanov, P.286) Very strong words are used when talking about imperialism. Some people believe they know what imperialism is, but many may associate it with something bad. Though they might be right about some things, what if I told you that there is some actual good about imperialism? Imperialism may have its down side to it, but there are a lot of good that has come out of imperialism throughout the world.

The rise of the Untied States in the 20th century as the world’s leading superpower is because they followed a foreign policy of imperialism, which furthered their economic expansion throughout the world. When studying imperialism, many people think of imperialism as the well-known traditional British imperialism in Africa. However, William Appleman Williams argues in his book, The Tragedy of American Diplomacy, that the U.S. formed a new type of imperialism in the 20th century, which was unique to that of traditional British imperialism because the U.S. used economic, diplomatic, and military means to further their expansion throughout the world. Brian Crozier defines this new type of imperialism that the U.S. created in the 20th century as

The nature of imperialism in the modern world has drastically changed; it has transcended from explicit military strength to economic, political, cultural and linguistic dimensions (Haque, 2011). Many anti-globalisation scholars argue that contemporary imperialist powers have turned to symbolic means of control, which are facilitated by the integration of Western-dominated global telecommunications systems and the

Imperialism is a policy of growing a powerful country by extending its rule over foreign, weaker countries, often to gain influence in that country’s politics and economy. Imperialism is often carried out to take advantage of resources in another country. During the “Age of Imperialism”, there were two different eras: Old Imperialism and New Imperialism. During the Old Imperialism Age, Europeans were seeking routes to Asia, and started to colonize in the Americas, Africa, and Asia. From the 1800s to the 1900s, it was

Lack of development in countries in the so-called `Third World' has many political and economical reasons. Historians explain the inadequacy of developing countries with the early imperialism and the resulting colonization of the South. Exploitation of mineral resources, deforestation, slavery, and the adaptation of foreign policies shaped the picture of today's suffering and struggling civilizations and natural rich continents. The omission of concessions and equal negotiations between dependency and supremacy give rise to the contrast of enormous resources and immense poverty in developing countries is. In the last years the outcry of justice and the emancipation of the Third World became louder throughout developing and industrialized