Neocolonialism

This article is about the geopolitical concept. For the computer game, see Neocolonialism (video game).

"Neocolonial" redirects here. For the architectural style, see Colonial Revival architecture.

Neocolonialism is the control by a state (usually, a former colonial power) over another nominally independent state (usually, a former colony) through indirect means. The term neocolonialism was first used after World War II to refer to the continuing dependence of former colonies on foreign countries, but its meaning soon broadened to apply, more generally, to places where it was argued the power of developed countries was used to produce a level of control in some ways comparable to direct colonialism. Some scholars have argued that neocolonialism operates through global economic governance, including international financial institutions and trade regimes, which can influence domestic policy decisions in formally sovereign states through mechanisms such as debt and loan conditionalities.

Neocolonialism is argued to take the form of economic imperialism, cultural imperialism and conditional aid to influence or control a developing country, instead of the previous colonial methods of direct military control or indirect political control (hegemony). Neocolonialism differs from standard globalisation and development aid in that it typically results in a relationship of dependence, subservience, or financial obligation towards the neocolonialist nation.

Coined by the French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre in 1956, it was first used by Kwame Nkrumah in the context of African countries undergoing decolonisation in the 1960s. Neocolonialism is discussed in Sartre's works such as Colonialism and Neocolonialism and Noam Chomsky's The Washington Connection and Third World Fascism.