Colonialism

by Norrie MacQueen

Europe’s rapacious hunger for other people’s lands is one of the key shaping forces of our contemporary world. Everything is touched by our colonial past, from the way we see the world to the food we eat. Our contemporary preoccupations and ills – from globalization to humanitarian intervention to international terrorism – have colonialism somewhere in their genetic make-up. The character and policies of contemporary international organizations – from the United Nations to the European Union - have also been deeply affected by the colonial inheritance of their members, whether as perpetrators or “victims”. Weaving together the complex strands of history and politics into one compact narrative, this book addresses the key theories of colonialism, examining them against contemporary realities. It goes on to looks at how the different policies of colonisers have had profoundly contradictory effects on the way different empires ended in the 20th century. These endings in turn affected the entire nature of modern day international relations. It also exposes the moral ambiguities of colonialism and the hypocrisies, which underlay colonial policies in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Genres: Politics, History

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Cheyanne]

While political history is not my strongest area of knowledge or interest, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. It was easy to read without being juvenile or simplified. It touched on various points of importance for colonialism and put forth an overview that was (probably) the least racist or Eurocentric that I have ever seen. I probably would have given it five stars if it had been on a topic that I am more passionate about, but in reading 'Colonialism', I became much more interested. As an international studies major, colonialism and political history is an area I need to know about. I wish more books on the topic were as well-written as this one. I also greatly appreciated the scope of the history provided: all the way from pre-colonialism to the modern era when arguments that humanitarian work is just neo-colonialism.

My only suggestion to make this book better is to perhaps include a map somewhere in the book to help readers visualize the colonization process and the shifting 'ownership' of different countries. There were so many countries mentioned that I had to read the book while facing the giant world map on my wall; I probably wouldn't have understood a lot of the politics without that map.

[Niklas Schindler]

This book has the difficult task in covering the entirety of colonial discourse and in that, it mostly success (summary wise). Yet one should not really on it as a work of history. Especially egregious to me was when the book only spoke of "suspected western involvement in Lumumba's assassination". Despite us now knowing that Belgian agents were present during him being shot, having ordered it

[Moaz Elshinawy]

الكتاب جيدا جدا كمدخل للموضوع. أسوء ما في الكتاب الخاتمة.