What is Anti-Imperialism?
Anti-imperialism is a broad stance that opposes empire: the conquest, colonization or control of one people or territory by a more powerful state. Anti-imperialists argue that every people has a right to govern itself and that foreign rule rests on force, exploitation and inequality. The stance includes many traditions. Liberal anti-imperialists argue that empire contradicts self-government and wastes resources. Marxist anti-imperialists, following Lenin, see imperialism as a product of advanced capitalism. Anticolonial nationalists in Asia, Africa and Latin America fought for independence. Today the term is also used for opposition to military interventions and to economic influence by powerful states, sometimes called neocolonialism.
Core beliefs
- Every people has a right to self-determination and independence.
- Colonial rule and foreign military occupation are illegitimate.
- Powerful states should not dominate weaker ones economically or politically.
- Former colonies should control their own resources and development.
- Racial hierarchies used to justify empire should be rejected.
- Countries of the Global South should cooperate and resist outside pressure.
History
Britannica notes that criticism of empire dates back at least to the sixteenth century. In nineteenth century Britain, the so-called Little Englanders opposed the costs of formal empire. In the United States, the American Anti-Imperialist League formed in 1898 to oppose the annexation of the Philippines; Mark Twain was among its prominent members. In 1902 the British economist J.A. Hobson argued in Imperialism: A Study that empire served narrow financial interests. Lenin's Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism, published in 1917, made anti-imperialism central to communist thought. In the twentieth century, Mohandas Gandhi led a nonviolent campaign against British rule in India, and independence movements spread across Asia and Africa after 1945. The Bandung Conference of 1955 and the Non-Aligned Movement, founded in Belgrade in 1961, gave newly independent states a shared voice. Frantz Fanon and Kwame Nkrumah wrote influential critiques of colonialism and neocolonialism.
Variants
Liberal anti-imperialism opposes empire on grounds of self-government, cost and individual rights. Marxist-Leninist anti-imperialism links empire to capitalism and calls for socialist revolution. Anticolonial nationalism seeks independence for particular nations. Nonviolent anti-imperialism, associated with Gandhi, rejects both empire and armed struggle. Third Worldism stresses solidarity among formerly colonized countries. Contemporary anti-imperialism often focuses on foreign military interventions and the economic power of wealthy states and corporations.
Criticisms
Critics argue that some anti-imperialist movements and states were selective, condemning Western empires while ignoring Soviet control over Eastern Europe or other forms of domination. Others argue that authoritarian governments have used anti-imperialist language to deflect criticism of their own human rights records. Some economic historians dispute the Hobson and Lenin view that colonies were a major source of profit for capitalists. Defenders reply that these criticisms do not weaken the principle of self-determination.
In practice
Anti-imperialist movements contributed to the end of most colonial empires after 1945. In 1960 the United Nations General Assembly adopted a declaration calling for independence of colonial countries and peoples. Anti-imperialist ideas continue to shape non-alignment, debates about foreign aid and debt, and opposition to military interventions.