Neo-Colonialism and Underdevelopment in Africa

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When engaging in a study of imperialism and neo-colonialism in Africa, one common theme that runs through in most scholarly discourse on this subject is the inherent impoverishment of Africa and the exploitation of its resources when the European Companies and Multinationals dominated the coastline of Africa, thereby establishing spheres of influence from whence they carved out settlements and colonies. The presence of Multinationals and European Companies across Africa led to an attendant disruption in the indigenous economic structures and institutions that existed in Africa long before contacts with the outside world. However, this study will cast light on the long-term aftermath of imperialism and colonialism in Africa. This is reflected in the concept of neo-colonialism which emerged as a new form of colonialism and the continuation of imperialism in Post-independent Africa.


neo-colonialism in Africa
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Walter Rodney in How Europe Underdeveloped Africa asserted that the impoverishment in Post-colonial Africa can be traced to the continent’s experience of imperialism and colonialism, which had lasting impacts on the politics and economy of African Societies after independence. Africa’s persistent impoverishment in the 21st century can be traced to the largely parasitic relationship that existed between the continent and Europe over a period of four centuries. 


The desire for oversea expansion that swept across Europe was as a result of changes in the mode of production in Europe through the emergence of the industrial revolution drove the imperialist ambitions of the European City States and Empire to acquire oversea territories that had the requisite resources needed for the development of its industries. However, before the industrial revolution, slave trade had long provided the primitive form of capital and labour needed in the various European plantations and factories. The need for raw materials to fuel the expansion of European capital and investments led to the colonization of Africa. It must be noted that in this study, the terms colonialism and imperialism will be used interchangeably, as they both mean the same thing. Therefore, colonialism came to be as a result of the desire by the Europeans to gain direct control of the indigenous capital and means of production which as at the late 17th and 18th century could not meet the voracious European demand and market. With the direct control of the indigenous economies through trade and military pacts came the era of imperialism.[1a]

 

What is Imperialism?

The word imperialism is coined from Empire. It is the practice of domination of one country by another, with the goals of expansion of territory, power and influence. While imperialism refers to political, cultural and economic rule over indigenous people transforming their ideas, institutions and material culture. The end goal of imperialism is to create economic dependencies. Imperialism therefore became a policy of colonial expansion in Africa. All imperial powers in Europe viewed imperialism as a way and means of achieving their goal of civilizing non-European societies and to also facilitate their economic growth and survival.[2a]


Imperialism and Colonialism

The colonial experience shaped Africa in many ways leading to the long-lasting impacts in the post-colonial economic survival of African societies in the 21st century. However, in a bid to stick to the narratives and not deviate from the subject matter of the conference theme, the paper focused on examining the origin of imperialism in Africa, tracing it to the pre-Atlantic and Atlantic economic and sociopolitical contacts that existed between Africa and Europe for over three centuries before the nineteenth century which can be dubbed as the century of imperialism and colonial expansion into Africa and Southeast Asia, Middle East and South America. Meanwhile, the emergence of the age of imperialism was as result of the colonial desire for the expansion of empire following the success of the industrial revolution which brought about the expansion of European capital or capitalism across Europe and the world. The wake of the imperialist incursion into Africa paved the way for colonialism, after which came neo-colonialism, the aftermath of neo-colonialism in Africa is Post-colonialism. Post-colonialism on its own focuses more on the long-term impacts of Imperialism, colonialism and Neo-colonialism on Africa and the so called Third World.


Many Scholars and Intellectuals like Franz Fanon, Claude Ake, Walter Rodney and Kwame Nkrumah have written extensively on the conference theme, and there is also a voluminous body of literature on this subject. Therefore, this paper will only reiterate what is already known, and will also add to the ongoing conversation on the aftermaths of imperialism and neo-colonialism on Post-colonial African societies.


The motives of imperialism and colonial expansion into nineteenth century Africa were primarily driven by economic factors. First, it was driven by the need for the European powers to carve out diverse spheres of influence/colonial empires in Africa. Secondly, the need to seek for new areas/territories that had the requisite raw materials that will fuel the industrialization in Europe. Thirdly, the need to source for new markets for the excess output/production in different European Factories/Industries. Therefore, the emergence of imperialism and colonialism in Africa led to the death, decline and neglect of the indigenous industries and class of capitals. For Karl Max, in his explanation of colonialism, and imperialism, he came to the conclusion that colonialism was the settlement of uninhabited areas from which indigenous people were driven out. His refusal to use the term imperialism was because he believed that the colonial experience occurred differently across the colonized world. J.A Hobson believed that the British imperialism stemmed out of the desire to resolve the problem of domestic under-consumption of products destined for foreign markets. Joseph Schumpeter viewed imperialism as a prelude to the capitalist expansion that would disappear with progressive and rational capitalism.


Walter Rodney asserted that to discuss on the trade that existed between Africa and Europe in the Pre-colonial times is to discuss on the Trans-Atlantic slave trade or the institution of slavery. Furthermore, he stated that the shipments of Africans as slaves was controlled by the Europeans, to markets controlled by the Europeans and for the interest of European capitalism and nothing more. In his argument, Walter Rodney believed that the ways and manners in which slaves from Africa were obtained and transported across the Atlantic was a violent process which involved warfare, banditry, trickery and kidnapping. He linked this process to the underdevelopment of Africa which he believed took place over a period of four hundred years. Warfare was however the principal means of obtaining slaves. Therefore, the destructiveness of the slave trade to Africa’s economic development was reflected in the massive loss to the African labour force. Rodney also made mention of the East African slave trade or the Indian Ocean slave trade as another gory episode of Africa’s impoverishment and underdevelopment. The Indian Ocean slave trade caused as much damage to the African kingdoms and empires that inhabited the Indian Ocean coastline, as did the slave trade. Therefore, he traced the origin of Africa’s impoverishment to the huge loss of human capital that came with the slave trade. This huge population loss to the continent in this view hampered the economic activities, growth and development in the continent.[1]


Imperialism and colonial expansion into Africa can be traced to the fifteenth century when the Portuguese landed in Cape Verde and Guinea Bissau to divert control of West African trade from the Muslims to Portuguese Merchants and to also find Christian allies that will contend against Islam which penetrated into this region of Africa through the Trans-Sahara trade. It was through Cape Verde that the Portuguese established dominance over that region. The Portuguese and Spanish were the earliest set of Europeans to have trading contacts with Africa, other European powers and new players in the vast African El Dorado emerged on the scene in the ensuing centuries. The European imperialist incursion into Africa commenced as trading partnerships which escalated into a toxic and parasitic relationship in the years that followed. Amilcar Cabral believed that colonialism and imperialism had impeded national consciousness, independence and real national liberation across Africa. In his view, classical colonialism was transformed into imperialism which offered direct control and domination. Imperialism is therefore capital in action which was destined to fulfill the role of developing the productive forces and transforming the means of production. Neo-colonialism emerged as an aftermath of the decades of reconstruction and rebuilding of the ruptured global economy after the Second World War, and became another and new stage of imperialism. In this stage, monopoly capitalism and emergence of new Multinational Corporations and international organizations such as the Bretton wood Institutions (IMF: International Monetary Fund, World Bank and World Trade GATT: General Agreement on Trade and Tariff/World Trade Organization) became the norm. Neocolonialism is thereby at work in both Europe/The Western world and likewise in the Third World in this second phase.[2]


The growth of Industry and the rapid concentration of production in ever-larger Enterprises are one of the dominant features of capitalism. For example in the 18th and 19th century Britain, the competition among the various Capitalist Enterprises and Corporations drove outward expansions of these Enterprises in search of new markets oversea due to stiff competition at home and the need to secure a new market for the surplus goods produced in Europe in the wake of the industrial revolution. Vladimir Lenin in his summation on imperialism and history of monopolies highlighted five stages that drove imperialism; 1860-1870: which was the highest stage, the apex of the development of free competition and the embryonic stage. The second stage is the after-crisis of 1873 in which there was a lengthy period of development of cartels, however, as a transitory phenomenon. The Third Stage is the boom at the end of the nineteenth century and the crisis of 1900-1903. This stage saw the rise of cartels as the foundations of the whole of economic life. Capitalism also transformed into imperialism. The monopolistic tendency of the European Enterprises was revealed in their expansionary drive into Africa in which various Multinationals established monopolies across different parts of Africa. The Royal Niger Company for instance established its presence in the Niger basin and area of contemporary Nigeria, thereby driving out foreign competitions like the French, German and Portuguese from this region. Therefore, the rise of monopolies in Europe is worth noting as a phase of capitalist development and is equally important in a discussion on imperialism and colonialism in Africa.[3]


Furthermore, when conducting a study on imperialism and colonialism in Africa, it is an established fact that African economic development was significantly changed and altered through its relationship and contacts with Europe. The impacts of these contacts first manifested through the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, which subsequently led to the scramble for African Territories in the early nineteenth century when the slave trade was abolished in Britain. The abolition of the slave trade led to the emergence of a commodity-based trading system and a cash crop agriculture system. Therefore, in this regards, imperialism and colonialism altered the natural development of African economies. However, Africa was not economically isolated from the rest of the world in its earliest contacts or before its contacts with Europe, and the outside world, as diverse African States had engaged in international trade long before the fifteenth century. The earlier kingdoms and empires across Africa engaged in various forms of trade and commerce with their immediate and distant neighbours. 


This earliest form of contacts was not mercantile in nature, the empires and kingdoms generated revenue and prosperity by taxing foreign trade, as well as relying on levies, custom duties and booties from war. The long existing Trans-Sahara trade preceded the emergence of oversea trade with Europe. The Trans-Sahara trade did not disrupt the indigenous capitals in Africa, it served to expand and facilitate the growth and wealth of cities such as Timbuktu, Jenne, Gao, Agadez, etc. that participated in it. However, in Africa’s international trade with Europe, the indigenous economy operated and was subordinated to the interests of Europe. This pattern of unbalanced trade between Africa and Europe equally manifested in the colonial and Post-Colonial period. In this unbalanced trading pattern, Africa became the core supplier of commodities and raw materials for European governments and Multi-nationals that plied and traded on the African coastline. In the era of the so called legitimate trade that emerged after the abolition of the slave trade, Africa became a source of raw materials for the rapidly industrializing European powers. The transition from the slave trade to legitimate commerce was without any significant impacts, as the increase in demand for raw materials and cash crops across the industrializing Europe in which Africa was dubbed and seen as a supplier of the needed materials ensured that the transition was without any fracas. In all these, the economic goals of colonialism and imperialism was to provide maximum economic benefit to the colonizing powers at the lowest possible price. 


Due to the rapid development that Europe had been undergoing from the start of the 18th century, the need for raw materials from Africa and other colonized Territories was sacrosanct for the economic development and survival of the European Powers. In the years that led to the rise of imperialism and colonialism in Africa, the European powers operating in Africa were able to wrest control of the indigenous economy from the local Rulers, thereby establishing monopolies and company rule in different parts of Africa. The insistence by the European Companies and Monopolies on the growth of certain cash crops needed as raw materials for the factories and industries of Europe from their African territories/colonies undermined the existing power structure and made Africa totally dependent on Europe for its economic growth and development. However, it must be noted that it was through imperialism and colonialism that Africa became fully integrated into the world economic system. Subsequent sections of this paper will fully examine how the integration of Africa into the world economic system and international trade turned African states into unequal partners with Europe and the Global west in this new found economic system introduced by Europe, which was more or less a parasitic relationship. It was therefore the colonial economic policies in Africa that forced the demise of indigenous industries and also forced Africa to become economically dependent on the imported good/products from Europe and America. This was the pattern of unequal relations between the Third world and the developed countries of the world which persisted into the 21st century.[4]


In this study on the African experience of colonialism and imperialism, the industrial revolution and subsequent expansion of capital and imperialism was driven by the changes in the mode of production in Europe. It was the industrial revolution in Europe that ushered in a new process of production through the mechanization of production which eventually replaced the slave-based economic system and mode of production. The introduction of industrial or mercantile capitalism by Europe into the world economic system led to an increase demand by Europe upon the resources of the world. In Africa, the need for the Europeans to control the means of production and source of raw materials drove the incursion into the hinterland/interior of Africa so as to organize the farms, mines and markets for greater profit in Europe. Thus, the entry of Europe into the hinterland relegated the historical role that the Middlemen have played in controlling trade with the coast. The European companies that pioneered the expansion/incursion of Empire into the hinterland obtained Charters from their home governments to operate in different parts of Africa. The entry of these European Companies into the hinterland led to a conflict of interest between the Indigenous Merchants who had direct access to the market obtained in the hinterland. This move which will alter the profits of the Middlemen and also lead to direct control of the means of production by the European Companies became one of the remote causes of the collapse of the indigenous industries and class of capitals.


Imperialism and colonialism was also driven by the need for the European powers to protect the vast amount of capital they had invested in Africa. The surplus capital accumulated by European merchants during the industrial revolution was invested in different parts of Africa and the colonized world. This need also led to the direct European control of the African economy and political administration so as to fuel the continuity of the imperialist schemes. The Royal Niger Company for instance obtained a Royal Charter from the British Crown in the 1880s to control the politics and trade of Pre-colonial Nigeria/Niger Area which lasted until 1900 when the British Government officially revoked the charter and took over the political and economic administration of this Area formerly controlled by the Royal Niger Company. Thus, the entry of Europe into Africa was predicated on the belief that it was to create a conducive atmosphere in the host countries for the operation of the capital invested. Therefore, this period (End of company rule) ushered in over five decades of direct colonial rule over major parts of Africa with different policies and systems adopted to facilitate the exploitation of African territories and to also promote the European economic interests. In this regard, colonialism served to promote and facilitate the continuity of imperialism in Africa.[5]

 

Underdevelopment in the Third World

When studying and attempting to understand the reason and cause of the underdevelopment in the Third World, there are many factors and yardstick to consider in this regards. One of such yardsticks which will be discussed in this section is the concept of development in relation to the deplorable economic situation in the Third world. Therefore, the concept of development and the efforts to eradicate poverty and improve the lives of people in the third world has been in existence for a long period of time. Therefore, in the Post-World War II era, and in the decade of independence in Africa, Asia and Latin America, many development theories were proposed as probable solutions to the underdevelopment and impoverishment in the Third world.


However, to go further in this study, the concept of Third World must be fully examined. Typically, this concept emerged in the aftermath of the Second World War and the Cold War era, and at the peak of the ideological confrontation between the Soviet Union and the United States. The concept referred to a group of non-aligned countries who were outside the great power blocs. The first usage of this concept can be traced to the French Demographer; Alfred Sauvy who coined the term in the 1950s to refer to a third force in the French Republic. Most importantly, the term was coined to categorize the power blocs during the Cold War, with the existence of a Third force which was distinct from the Western and Eastern bloc. Therefore, Non-Alignment became one of the earliest movement and ideological position associated with the Third World. It was in the Bandung conference of 1955 which was attended by representatives from twenty nine African and Asian conference that the Third World Countries were first identified.


In similar vein, the Third world was also identified as a movement that sought to bring solidarity among developing countries based on their economic status and their models of production. The Third world was seen to exist outside the first world of the advanced capitalist democracies and the second world of the industrially advanced communist countries. Furthermore, in the analysis of British Political Scientist; Samuel Finer, he regarded the Third world as countries that were poor and share a common experience of colonialism, as well as deep diplomatic and economic penetration by the western powers. In this view, the concept of the Third world was equally associated with anti-imperialism, anti-colonialism, neo-colonialism and racialism and the efforts of the developing countries in the Global South to confront these vices to their economic development and advancement. Therefore, the Third world is seen as a solidarity movement against the continuing intervention and involvement of the advanced and powerful countries of the West in the developing economies of the world. The idea of the Third world tried to capture a common experience of exploitation by richer and more powerful societies against the weaker and colonized territories of Africa, Asia and Latin America. This common experience is shared by all Third World countries and was seen as persisting even after independence.


In another wise, the concept of the Third world from the 1960s represented the desire and campaign by the Global South economies to forge a new international economic order under which developing countries would secure greater control of their natural resources and also control the pricing of their raw materials in the international market so as to protect their economies in a way. The concept is also expressed as a form of grievance by the developing or impoverished economies against the developed countries who were believed to have rigged and manipulated the rules of international economy against less developed countries. The third world countries have expressed their desire to gain greater access to markets in industrialized countries for their own manufactured goods by urging the government in the advanced countries to lower the trade barriers that protect their domestic industries from competition from third world products. However, many Scholars and Economists from the earliest times have questioned the validity or need for a Third world concept. It is believed that the Third World’s experience of globalization and development has not been uniform, pointing to the globalization of market economies and pluralistic democracy which emerged after the end of the Cold War, thereby challenging the validity of the concept of a Third World in the 21st century. The deep internal division among the Third world countries was reflected in the uneven level of development among the Third World Countries. This unevenness also led to divisions between the Third World Countries by the end of the 1960s. Some group of the Third World countries such as Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Philippines maintained anti-communist stance, which brought an end to the Third World as a united voting bloc in international relations and in the United Nations, splitting it along ideological lines. This internal divisions on many fronts; economic, political and social led to the failure of the Third World bloc in surviving into the 21st century. [6]

 

Neo-colonialism and the Persistence of Western Capitalism in Post-colonial Africa

Neo-colonialism is viewed differently by diverse scholars. Generally, the concept is seen as the persistence of colonialism in Africa in the 21st century. Some Scholars attributed the concept of neo-colonialism to Jean-Paul Sartre, a leading French anti-colonial activist and writer who used the term in 1956. Other scholars trace the origin of the word to Leninism in which it is referred to as the new form of colonial domination over independent African States in the Post-colonial period. In this regard, the western capitalist countries rely on the resources and manpower of their former colonies in order to preserve their dependence on Europe by granting them independence. This independence however has been described as a political one, without the accompanying economic freedom or independence for African states. Neo-colonialism is also seen as a new form of colonial policy with new hidden mechanisms intended to reinforce capitalism, maximize profit and maintain the economic, political, military and ideological dominance and influence of Africa by the western capitalist countries. In other words, from the above summations, Neo-colonialism was only a subtle continuation of colonialism and imperialism in the Post-independent Africa. In the All African people’s conference resolution of 1961, the concept of neo-colonialism was defined as;


The survival of the colonial system in spite of formal recognition of political independence in emerging countries, which become victims of an indirect and subtle form of domination by political, economic, social, military, or technical means.


Furthermore, in the Leninist worldview as noted earlier, neo-colonialism is seen as adapted form of colonialism which takes advantage of the inherent weaknesses of the newly decolonized states of Africa, Asia and Latin America in order to achieve, political, economic and cultural benefits for the colonizing powers. In this view, the goal of neo-colonialism is the same as during colonialism, which is to ensure that the former colonies remain in a dependent position which facilitates their continuous exploitation. However, what changed in the transition from colonialism to neo-colonialism are only the mechanisms applied to ensure continuous dependence. Some of these neo-colonial mechanisms as highlighted by Haag, Diana include; the control and fixing of prices for raw materials by the dominant or capitalist power, the obligation to buy certain amounts of manufactured and uncompetitive products from the former colonial master and to sell a determined quantity of raw materials in exchange, the monopoly of the metropolis on the transport of goods, the conditionality of aid sustaining the commercial interests of the donor country (such as the lowering of trade barriers, the obligation to use part of the aid to buy goods or to favour companies of the donor country), the control of capital through imposed foreign exchange rates and banking systems, the imposed right to influence internal financial decisions, foreign influence in policy making through bribery of the local administration or instalment of civil servants in high positions, assistance in political coups, the presence and interventions of the military of the neo-colonial ruler, etc.[7] these and many more are the noticeable mechanisms of neo-colonialism in Post-colonial African societies. Neo-colonialism has influence in the economic, political, educational, cultural and social life of the countries affected.


In similar vein, Kwame Nkrumah while making reference to the colonial and Post-colonial experiences of Francophone countries in West Africa, he asserted that while France granted political independence to French speaking countries in the 1950s and 1960s, the newly independent states which became autonomous and obtained international sovereignty however were under adverse conditions such that the newly independent francophone countries had to maintain all their economic, commercial, financial and military links to France. Therefore, in order to exist as independent states, these Francophone countries were forced to accept French aid. Nkrumah further traced the origin of French aid to the competitive advantages which French Firms and Business merchants derived from the African Franc zone, which also determined the framework in which the aid is provided. So long as the relationship which the aid provided to France was profitable, the aid continued to be given. In return for these aids given to its newly independent former colonies, France was guaranteed markets and prices for primary products such as coffee, cocoa, groundnut, beans, bananas and cottons. The African states in return had to import from France fixed quantity of goods such as; machinery, textiles, sugar, and flour. The countries were also forced to limit their imports of manufactured products from countries outside the Franc zone. 


Therefore, Nkrumah believed that aids of these type can determine Africa’s relations with the developed and western capitalist world, which may become extremely dangerous to the recipient countries. Furthermore, Nkrumah believed that all African countries which have now become independent are subject to some degree of neo-colonialist pressures, which they cannot escape, even though they struggle and try so hard to do so. He however believed there was a difference between countries that accepted neo-colonialism as a policy, and those that resisted it. In this regards, Nkrumah regarded the colonial problems of Africa as largely neo-colonial. Furthermore, he described modern day neo-colonialism as based upon the control of nominally independent states by giant capitalist financial interests. On this note, Nkrumah declared that the only way Africa can develop industrially is if the artificial boundaries that divide the countries of the continent are broken, so as to provide for viable and profitable economic units, and to ultimately provide for a single currency in the continent. 


He further emphasized on the need for a common currency and the development of communication of all kinds so as to allow the free flow of goods and services. Due to the fragmentation of Post-colonial African states into too many small and uneconomic/non-viable units, majority of the countries are struggling hard to survive in a globalized economic that is unfavorable for these newly independent and weak states. This accounts for the reason why at independence, many of these newly independent African states had to cling to and maintain their old ties with their former colonial masters, which made them vulnerable and fall prey to neo-colonial forces. Therefore, Nkrumah staunchly advocated for an economic unification of all African states which would benefit those African countries that are industrializing, and grant them access to a wider market. Similarly, with economic unification of all African states, he believed that the domination of African countries by foreign firms will be ended, which will lead to economic growth and progress.[8]

 

Neo-colonialism and Decolonization in the 21st century

In the modern times, neo-colonialism has been perpetuated in new forms and dimensions. Having passed through the experience of slave trades, imperialism, colonialism, apartheid, neo-colonialism, neo-liberalism and currently globalization, African countries have remained in a lopsided and asymmetrical power relations with the Global West. In this view, Sabeloj. Ndlovu believed that the decolonization movement of the 1960s to 1970s in Africa did not succeed in removing coloniality. He however, made a clear distinction between colonialism and coloniality, asserting that coloniality survived the direct end of colonialism and has remained persistent ever since. Furthermore, coloniality is seen as a continuous existence of the imperialistic, racialized, Euro-American centric and Christian-centric worldview that was introduced from the time of the discovery of the new world. Since then, this power and economic structure developed into a global capitalist and imperialist system. Therefore, in order to eradicate coloniality in Africa, Sabeloj. Ndlovu recommended that decoloniality which is borne out of a realization of the asymmetrical nature of the world order and global economic system must be adopted. Furthermore, in quoting Michael Hardt and Anthony Negri in their book; Empire, it is believed that the current international order which European modernity has continuously proposed and reproposed since the Peace of Westphalia is gradually collapsing and in crisis. Furthermore, Arturo Escobar in his book; The making and Unmaking of the Third World believes that the current global economic, political and security crisis emanates from the reality of modernity which created modern problems, in which there are no modern solutions. This current crisis in the western civilization was equally observed and aptly noted by Aime Cesare who stated that;


A civilization that proves incapable of solving the problems it creates is a decadent civilization. A civilization that chooses to close its eyes to its most crucial problems is a stricken civilization. A civilization that uses its principles of trickery and deceit is a dying civilization.


Therefore, this crisis in western civilization led to the decolonial struggles in Africa and the Third world from the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s and 1970s, which were premised on the outright rejection of colonialism, imperialism and neocolonialism. Some of the modern problems confronting western civilization include; ecological destruction, climate change, global migration, increasing level of inequalities, poverty, etc. Decolonization therefore in this regard can be used to describe the withdrawal of direct colonialism from the former colonies, as well as the struggles against the empires that were reluctant to give up their colonies or colonial possessions. In this regard, South Africa became the last colony to decolonize from an internal form of white colonialism called apartheid in 1994.[9]


The major theoretical framework of neocolonialism is centred on the control of the economy of a former colonized territory through foreign actors which serves to reveal the continuity of colonialism. In other words, neocolonialism is a continuation of colonialism in disguise or in another form. Therefore, decolonization is seen as an anti-imperialist move to oust foreign multinationals who serve as agents of colonialism in Africa. It must also be noted that when analyzing decolonization and neo-colonialism in the 21st century, the question of economic globalization must also come into play. Globalization has been closely linked by many Scholars to European expansion and European colonialism since the 15th century. In this regard, economic globalization has been a major driver of the dichotomy in the global economic system from the 1950s to date. It is reflected in the inordinate concentration of trade flows within just three regions of the world; Western Europe, North America, as well as East and Southeast Asia. This uneven and triadization of the global economy has left many Post-colonial African states on the losing side in an ever competitive global economy. However, economic globalization still serve to perpetuate the long existing colonial division of labour, with raw materials production centred in Africa and the Third World, while technological production is concentrated in the Industrialized western countries and some Asian countries. 


The IMF and World Bank have been known since the 1960s to be the core institutions of the western capitalist global institutions. The World Trade Organization which was created in 1995 have also been accused of free trade imperialism, while the IMF and World Bank through their injurious structural Adjustment Programmes and austerity measures against countries of Africa and the Third World have further perpetuated neo-colonialism. Neo-colonialism in these institutions is revealed in the voting rights on the executive boards of the IMF and World Bank, which is weighed according to the capital shares of each member country. The western capitalist countries, especially the United States which pays the highest shares have the highest voting rights. In the World Bank, the Executive Directors from Germany, France and Britain together have more than twice as many votes (11.96%) as compared to the representatives of over 50 African countries combined. Therefore, the strict conditionality attached to the IMF and World Bank loans/credit facilities serves to reflect neo-colonial and neo-liberal influences of these organizations. The debt servicing of the loans offered to African and Latin America countries by the IMF and World Bank has not led to a reduction of the mountain of debts, but have served to continue perpetuate it and also led to the expansion of the debt service payments. This is what is referred to as the debt trap.[10]    

 

 

CONCLUSION

Therefore in all these analysis, what  does decolonization entails for African countries in a fast advancing, digitizing and increasingly competitive global economy?


Decolonization in the 21st century will entail Africa and the third world countries to consciously break free from the western capitalist system and its institutions which had impoverished African societies from times past. Decolonization which is generally believed to have started from the period or decade of independence in Africa and the colonized world, which led to an outright rejection of colonialism and all its influences, however can be traced much earlier to the period of the various forms of resistance instigated by African States and Rulers such as Shaka the Zulu, Oba Overamuen of Benin, Nana of Itshekiri kingdom, Mammy Yoko of the Mende tribe, Queen Nzinga of Angola, King Ghezo of the Abomey empire, etc against slavery and imperialist penetration into their territories.. Decolonization is also regarded as the undoing of colonialism. In the 21st century, decolonization will take the form of charting new economic paths for African countries, it will also entail seeking new forms of partnership and bilateral relations with other countries across the world, far away from the West which will be a form of break from the long-entrenched western imperialism and hegemony. The subject of decolonization must transcend beyond just political independence which was attained by the colonized territories to also include other forms of independence such as economic, social and cultural.




[1a] Ocheni, S. & Nwankwo, C.B. 2012. Analysis of colonialism and its impacts in Africa. Cross-cultural communication. Vol.8, No.3. pp. 46-47.

[1] Rodney, Walter. 1973. How Europe Underdeveloped Africa. London: Bogle-L'Ouverture Publications.

[2a] Imperialism and Colonialism in the context of Africa. Retrieved from https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/imperialism-and-socialism-context-africa  Accessed on 30th July, 2024.

[2] Chilcote, R.H. 1991. Amilcar Cabral’s Revolutionary Theory and Practice: A Critical Guide. Boulder and London: Lynne Rienner Publishers. pp.

[3] Lenin, V.I. 1916. Imperialism, the highest stage of Capitalism: A Popular Outline. Petrograd: First published in 1917 in pamphlet form.

[4] Settles, D.J. & McCaskey, F. 1996. The Impact of Colonialism on African Economic Development. Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects. Retrieved from https://trace.tennesse.edu/uk-chanhonoproj/182 on 2nd August, 2024.

[5] Ocheni, S. & Nwankwo, B.C. 2012. Analysis of Colonialism and its Impacts in Africa. pp. 47-50.

[6] Smith, B.C. 2003. Understanding Third World Politics: Theories of Political Change and Development (2nd Edition). New York: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 11-19.

[7] Haag, D. 2011. Mechanisms of Neo-colonialism. A Publication of the Insitut Catala Internacional Per La Pau (ICIP) Working Papers: 2011/6. pp. 7-10.

[8] Nkrumah, K. 1965. Neo-colonialism, the last stage of Imperialism. London: Thomas Nelson and Sons, Ltd. pp. 21-31.

[9] Gasheni, Sabeloj. Ndlovu. 2013. Why Decoloniality in the 21st century? The Thinker. Vol.48. pp. 13-15.

[10] Ziai, Aram. 2020. Neocolonialism in the globalized economy of the 21st century: An Overview. Momentum Quarterly. Vol.9, No.3. pp. 1-8.



Paper presented at the second edition of the Pan-African Assembly Conference, with the theme: Imperialism, Neo-colonialism and Post-colonialism: The African Experience on 29th August, 2024, at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, Nigeria by: David Olushola Adejumo and Liu Shaojie.


David Adejumo: A Researcher, Poet and Graduate Student of History Department, University of Ibadan.


Liu Shaojie: A Researcher and Graduate Student of the Institute of African Studies, Zhejiang Normal University, China.

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