Contemporary Colonialism: Modes of Domination, Violence, and Memory

Most former colonies have achieved independence. However, the path toward eliminating colonialism remains long. From its inception, capitalism required colonies, and colonial violence continues to afflict people today. Colonialism is a mode of domination that subjugates other regions and exploits their land, resources, and labor through military, political, economic, cultural, and intellectual means. It is not limited to formal colonies, but refers more broadly to forms of domination that resemble colonial rule. As such, colonialism is a key concept for understanding geopolitical structures of domination and oppression worldwide.

Since the age of imperialism, colonialism has diversified into neo-colonialism, post-colonialism, settler colonialism, semi-colonialism, and internal colonialism. This session also considers dual-colonialism, in which a semi-colonial state places indigenous people in a colonial position during nation-building; under-colonialism, in which a former colony governs its citizens through colonial modes after independence; and memorial colonialism, in which people continue to live with memories of colonial violence.

While there is extensive ethnographic and theoretical research on colonialism, many challenges remain. The Sociology of Colonialism uses colonialism as a key concept to analyze and connect: colonial economy and non-capitalism within capitalism; the state, racism, and nationalism; ethnicity, gender, and class; and experience, memory, identity, and survival strategies.

This session discusses the following three questions:

• How did the state, capital, racism, and nationalism give rise to colonialism?
• How did people under colonial rule cope, survive, submit or resist ?
• How have memories of colonial suffering been lived and renewed?