Post-colonialism and the Howard School of IR

Vocabulary flashcards covering the key thinkers, classifications of colonial status, and the conceptual framework of post-colonialism and neo-colonialism as presented in the lecture.

Howard School of IR

A school of International Relations theory represented by scholars such as WEB Du Bois, Eric Williams, and Alain Locke that examined colonial administration alongside issues of war and peace.

WEB Du Bois

The first Black person to earn a PhD at Harvard (1868-1963) and a scholar-activist who criticised the US government in the context of race and racial inequalities and argued that the real prize of WWI was the ownership of materials and men in the darker world.

Account of WW1

World war one happened because, European countries competed against each other for colonial dominance wanting to exploit the native population and take their resources. Germany was not an aggressive outlier, but rather a latecomer to imperialism, feeling pressured to expand its own empire. This competition fostered alliances and ultimately escalated tensions, leading to the war.

Critique of Wilson and the league

Critiqued wilson’s denial of rights towards coloured people and his view over self determination, which was a privileged right he argued. Challenged the league of nations as a mechanism to manage colonies and its failure to make states equal, with a mandate system being created which meant colonies were under the supervision of other states.

Du Bois’ three classification of colonial people.

formal colonial status marked by political domination.
semi-colonial status marked by economic dependence.
excluded minorities and second- class citizens like African Americans, what he
calls quasi-colonial peoples or at times “internally colonised” populations

Frantz Fanon

A psychiatrist from Martinique (1925-1961) who joined the Algerian revolution and analysed how the violence of the colonial world affects the psyche of the colonised. in 1957 he was deported to Tunisia, joined the revolution
and became an editor for their newspaper Al-Moudjahid.

colonialism and violence

Settler’s towns; Described by Fanon as a well-fed and easy-going world, contrasted with the native town or reservation which is a world without spaciousness where men live on top of each other. Colonialism exists this way because, of violence, the first encounter was defined by violence. The only way colonialism can end is through violence, because it is the only language colonisers know of.

Violence and the psyche of the colonised

Violence is not just physical but also, goes deep into the psyche of the colonised. The violence of colonialism is multi-scale it reaches all levels, all the way down to the body.

Criticism of violence

  Violence cannot achieve political ends and is hugely antipolitical.  There comes a time when violence, when it becomes an end in itself and shows no limits defeats its own purpose.

Violence itself is a problematic concept as nothing is certain after it. The political ends of action can never be completely certain.

Neo-colonialism

A key challenge that a nation faces after colonialism ends is the financial interference of the metropole. The former colonised countries become dependent on the former colonial power. This transformation occurs when the new elites turn themselves into intermediaries for the metropole. As a consequence, the economy becomes dependent on exporting one or a few material exports to just one or a few markets.