imperialism

Policy of extending the power and rule of a government beyond its own boundaries. A country may attempt to dominate others by direct rule and settlement – the establishment of a colony – or by less obvious means such as control of markets for goods or raw materials. These less obvious means are often called neocolonialism.

The word ‘imperialism’ was first taken up in the 1890s by the British colonial secretary Joseph Chamberlain, who favoured British expansionist policies, and was adopted into other languages during the period of imperial expansion by European powers from the 1880s to 1914. Imperialism was soon exposed to criticism from the left, in the British economist J A Hobson's Imperialism (1902), and from a Marxist perspective in Lenin's Imperialism as the Highest Stage of Capitalism (1917).

Imperialists and anti-imperialists Imperialists claimed that they were expanding civilization to underdeveloped countries, and associated their military and technological strength with a belief in the racial and cultural superiority of Europeans. Lenin's view was that imperialism was a symptom of capitalism: capitalists used their control over government to encourage imperial expansion, providing them with new markets, raw materials, and opportunities for investment. Critics of this view accept that economic motives are important, but also point to nationalism, racism, and the pursuit of power as motives. Since Lenin, many on the left have adopted a strong ‘anti-imperialist’ stance, although this can sometimes be seen as conflicting with other left priorities, such as working-class unity. Accusations of imperialism or neo-imperialism have often been levelled at the USA (US imperialism and its allies by China and the former USSR, although Soviet intervention in Afghanistan could be criticized as Soviet imperialism, and Chinese rule in Tibet is described by some as imperialist.

Colonialism The term ‘colonialism’ is often used in the same sense as imperialism, but some writers have used it specifically to mean a policy of maintaining a sharp distinction between the ruling nation and the ruled, both legally and economically. Although this is not always a feature of imperialism, it is very common, and commonest where the colony is distant and where the colonized peoples are seen as racially different from the ruling nation. Colonialist attitudes may even be applied to colonial settlers originally from the ruling country themselves, perhaps because they are remote from the home country, or because they begin to be seen in the same racist way as the subject people.

Problems left by imperialism The break-up of previous empires such as the Austro-Hungarian Empire after 1918, and the British Empire in the second half of the 20th century, or of large multinational states such as the former Soviet Union after 1991, has led to a greater degree of self-determination (freedom for peoples to govern themselves), but this has brought its own problems. Ethnic groups have been mixed under the old regimes (as with the Russian community in the now independent Estonia), sometimes through state policies. In Africa many borders of nation states still follow lines drawn by imperial (often British) authorities, which often do not take account of ethnic differences. Some of these situations have sparked conflict. Imperial powers are also blamed for having exploited local economies and prevented proper economic development among the population.

Neo-imperialism and neocolonialism Countries which have gained their freedom may still not achieve equality. The terms ‘neo-imperialism’ and ‘neocolonialism’ are used for the control of formerly colonized countries, or other developing countries, by Western nations or companies, through economic or cultural power. It is sometimes called economic (or ‘dollar’) imperialism, but can also take a cultural form (as in the worldwide prevalence of US films and television). Even ‘aid’ from the West may be seen as neo-imperialist from this perspective. Today many developing countries, heavily dependent on the leading industrial nations, are subject to this type of imperialism, with large proportions of their national product being used for the payment of interest on accumulated international debts. As the superpower of the West, the USA, while proclaiming democratic virtues, has secured and protected its interests by economic pressure, and sometimes by military intervention, in many parts of the world, particularly in Central America, which it is accused of regarding as its ‘back yard’.