Neocolonialism

Neocolonialism is the term which is used by the post-colonial critics of the developed countries taking part in the developing world.  

The two decades following the Second World War saw the final and most dramatic wave of independence sweep across the European empires in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, either as a result of more or less peaceful nego­tiations between the leaders of the nationalist movements and the European powers, or as the outcome of wars of liberation. What Michael Barratt Brown called 'one of the great transformations in modern history' occurred when all but a few million of the 780 million people living in the colonial possessions of the imperial powers 'freed themselves from subject status' (Barratt Brown, 1963, pp. 189-90).

Politically it was assumed that indigenous governments, representing the interests of local people rather than alien groups, would have sovereign state power at their disposal. Their relationships with the governments of other sovereign states would be those of independent nation-states entering into treaties and agreements within the framework of international law. Economically it was assumed that following independence the process of 'diffusion' would continue as capital, technology and expertise spread. Foreign aid and investment would increase the productive capacity of the less developed economy (Rosen and Jones, 1979; Mack and Leaver, 1979).

However, a different perception of the relationship between sovereign states is conveyed by the term 'neo-colonialism', originally coined by mainly Third World leaders who found that the achievement of constitu­tional independence and sovereignty did not give total freedom to the gov­ernments of the newly formed nation-states. Political autonomy was found to be something of a facade behind which lurked the continuing presence of powerful Western financial and commercial interests. The end of colonial government was seen by leaders such as Nkwame Nkrumah, the first Prime Minister of Ghana and author of a book entitled Neo-colonialism: the Last Stage of Imperialism, as not ending economic colonialism.

The core of the neo-colonialist argument is that a distinction between political and economic freedom misses the point that there can be no real political independence while economic dependency remains.

Questionnaire:

• What is Neocolonialism? Explain.