Module VII·Article I·~2 min read
Decolonization: The End of European Empires
The Cold War and Decolonization
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Collapse in Three Decades
In 1945, about 750 million people lived under colonial rule. By 1975, almost all of them had become citizens of independent states. In 30 years, empires that had taken 400 years to build collapsed. This is one of the largest political turning points in human history.
What made decolonization possible? War weakened the European powers—both physically and morally. The USA and the USSR (for different reasons) supported anti-colonialism. Nationalism, nurtured by European universities, turned against the colonizers: Jawaharlal Nehru, Kwame Nkrumah, Ho Chi Minh—all studied in Western schools and adopted Western ideas of self-determination.
Forms of Decolonization
Decolonization followed different paths. Peaceful transfer of power (British India, 1947)—but at the cost of partition into India and Pakistan, and a million dead in communal violence. Armed struggle (Algeria 1954–62): the French army used torture, France lost 1.5 million colonists. Vietnam: first against France (1945–54), then against the USA (1955–75).
Congo (1960): Belgium left in a hurry, leaving behind neither infrastructure nor trained personnel. Patrice Lumumba was killed with the support of the CIA and Belgian special services. Decades of instability.
Postcolonial Legacy
Most new states inherited problems: borders drawn by colonizers that did not reflect real ethnic and cultural divisions; administrative systems designed for resource extraction, not development; economies tied to raw materials exports; a shortage of qualified personnel.
The "dependency trap" theory—Raúl Prebisch: former colonies are included in the world economy as suppliers of raw materials, the revenues from which remain low, while manufactured goods become more expensive. Structural inequality, not just "inability to govern".
The Cold War additionally complicated decolonization: the USSR and USA intervened in the affairs of new states, supporting "their" dictators. This preserved authoritarianism and prevented organic development.
Question for reflection: The postcolonial economy was often built on the export of raw materials and the import of technologies. How similar is this logic to the structure of some modern business relationships (platforms and small business, franchises)?
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