Imperialism & Decolonization

GOAL: How did imperialism and alter decolonization contribute to the inequalities between Western countries (U.S., Europe) and countries in South America, Africa, the

Middle East, and Asia?

What is Imperialism?• Imperialism = the policy of

expanding social, economic, or political control to other nations - Furthered the practice of colonialism- Creation of empires

Why Imperialism?• Need for natural resources & raw

materials (for industrialization)• Need for new markets to sell goods• Competition with other countries for

wealth & trade, power & dominance • Social Darwinism – belief that

Europeans were “fittest for survival” and justified in colonizing others

Where did Imperialism Occur?

• Scramble for Africa – Europeans nations began

quickly “scooping up” territory in Africa

• Berlin Conference of 1885– European countries met to divide

up the African continent– Did not take into account

African ethnic or tribal regions

– Led to conflict once Europeans withdrew

Where did Imperialism Occur?

Where did Imperialism Occur?

Negative Effects of Imperialism for Colonized People

• Destruction of traditional life• Loss of self-rule– Excluded natives from gov’t

• Social exclusion• Low status for colonized people • Prevented development of colonies’

economies or industries= Dependency

Negative Effects of Imperialism for Colonized People

• Racism– Apartheid in S. Africa

• Ethnic conflict– Deaths from war, genocide

• Armenian genocide• Rwanda, Nigeria, Somalia, Uganda, Burundi, etc.• India & Pakistan over Kashmir

• Poverty, famine• Political instability

Were there any positive effects?

• Provided education and literacy• Introduced improved medicine and health care– Improved sanitation

• Brought new technologies & forms of transportation (i.e. railroads)

Improved technologies, infrastructure, & sanitation may have been to benefit European settlers in the colony, not necessarily the colonized people

• There are 231 ethnic groups with at least 10% of their historical homeland falling into more than one country. When we use a more restrictive threshold of 20% there are 164 ethnicities partitioned across the national border.

(Michalopoulos and Papaioannou, 2010) 

• Conflict between ethnic groups

• Conflict between religious groups (Muslim, Christian, traditional, etc.

• Conflict over resources, claims to territory

Richard H. Robbins, Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism, (Allyn and Bacon, 2002), p.

302)

• We must remember that the European agreements that had carved up Africa into states paid little attention to cultural and ethnic boundaries and ethnic groups had little opportunity or need to form political alliances or accommodations under repressive colonial rule.… Think of countries such as Canada, which has been trying for hundreds of years with mixed success to accommodate only two linguistic groups — English and French — and you get an idea of the problems of African states with far greater cultural and linguistic divisions.

What is Decolonization?• Decolonization = the process of becoming

free from colonial status and achieving statehood– Initiated by India

• National self-determination = ability to create and implement one’s own national gov’t and make own political decisions

A rally in Cape Verde with portraits of Amilcar Cabral and Aristides Pereira, leaders of the liberation struggle in Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde against Portuguese colonial rule.Photograph: UN Photo / Yutaka Nagata

Where did decolonization happen? • The experience

of decolonization and independence differed by country

• Some colonizers were reluctant to give up control = conflict

• Some colonies independence more peacefully

Where did decolonization happen?• The experience of

decolonization and independence differed by country

• Some colonizers were reluctant to give up control = conflict

• Some colonies independence more peacefully

Why Decolonize?• Post-WWII mentality– Colonies had fought alongside big powers in WWII

• Nationalist movements turned to independence movements

– Europeans questioned morality of colonization– Some European countries could not afford to keep

colonies (economically & politically)– Some countries were

forced to give up colonies due to loss in WWII

Why decolonization?• Atlantic Charter

– Roosevelt & Churchill met in 1941 to discuss postwar world (although far off…)

– A provision of the A.C. was to grant autonomy to colonies

• United Nations formed after WWII– UN Declaration on the Granting

of Independence, 1960– Set up Special Committee on

Decolonization

Patterns of Decolonization• 1) Peaceful negotiation– India

• 2) Civil war– China, Korea

• 3) Incomplete decolonization– Palestine

Decolonization in India• Britain assisted India in achieving

autonomy• Partition between India and Pakistan

created conflict (tensions remain)– Jumma & Kashmir

Decolonization and the Cold War• Emergence of independent nations co-

occurred with conflict between Western, democratic U.S. and communist U.S.S.R.

• Will new nations fall to communism?

Decolonization in AsiaCHINA• Europe & Japan

withdrew spheres of influence

• Nationalists v. Communists led by Mao Zedong

• Communist Party won control of China in 1949

• Conflict between Communist N. Korea & anti-Communist South Korea

• Korean War 1950-1953

• Continued division at 38th parallel

KOREA VIETNAM• Torn between

Communist North and non-Communist South

• Vietnam War

Decolonization in the Middle East• Issues with their decolonization:– Strategic and economic importance of

petroleum found in Middle East– Urge to modernize v. preserve Islamic

tradition– Competition between U.S. & U.S.S.R. for

influence in the region during Cold War

– Authoritarianism – dictatorship & human rights abuses

– Arab-Israeli conflict since 1948 leads to instability

Decolonization in Middle East• Iraq & Jordan

independent from GB (1932, 1946)

• Lebanon & Syria independent from France (1943, 1946)

• Partition plan for Israel & Palestine– Israel declared a state in

1948– Palestine still seeking

statehood– Arab-Israeli Wars

Decolonization in Africa • Nationalist movements and independence

differed throughout Africa– Pan-Africanism

• Some were peaceful, orderly transitions, others were violent and unstable

Challenges to Decolonization

• Ethnic disputes• Dependent economies• Growing debt• Cultural dependence

on west-> religious revivalism as backlash

• Widespread social unrest

• Military responses to restore order

• Population growth• Resource depletion• Lack of middle class

in some locales• Education deficit

and later, brain drain.

• Neo-colonialism through economic debt

Emergence of Third World• Client states = still economically

& politically dependent on colonizer

• Proxy war = war waged between dependent client states of larger, more powerful states that do not become directly involved in fighting – Guatemala, Nicaragua, Chile

Neo-Colonialism?• Neo-colonialism = continued pressure

to control or influence former colonies politically, economically, or culturally

Banana republic (country dependent on single cash crop & politically obligated to the countries which buy it)

i.e. Guatemala & U.S./United Fruit Co.

Non-Alignment Movement• International conference

of leaders of new nations to discuss post-colonial agenda

• Determined to remain non-aligned with major powers

• Emphasized internal dev.• Called for…

– Global reduced military spending

– Increase in spending on economic dev., health, education, welfare, housing, etc.

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru with Zhou Enlai (left), of China, at the Bandung conference, 1955.

(Photograph by Getty Images, From Outlook 22 October 2012)

Non-Alignment Movement“The preservation of peace forms the central aim of India’s policy. It is in the pursuit of this policy that we have chosen the path of nonalignment in any military or like pact of alliance. Nonalignment does not mean passivity of mind or action, lack of faith or conviction. It does not mean submission to what we consider evil. We believe that each country has not only the right to freedom but also to decide its own policy and way of life. Only thus can true freedom flourish and a people grow according to their own genius.”

Nehru’s Speech at Bandung Conference