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Decolonization and its Causes

Introduction
Since the end of the Second World War, a very significant political development in world
politics is the process of decolonization following which a large number of ex-colonial countries
in Asia. Africa and Latin America achieved their respective independence from the colonial yoke
of the European powers. Decolonization, according to Martin Griffiths and Terry O’Callaghan, ‘is
the process whereby a colonial society achieves constitutional independence from imperial
rule. It is the reverse of colonization – a process whereby one state occupies the territory of
another state and directly rules over its population’. The newly emerged countries came to
constitute what is called the Third World – a term used by different political scientists from
different perspectives.

Presently, developing countries, developed countries, poor countries, countries of the south,
peripheral countries, emerging countries or countries in transition are some of the popular
terms used to refer to the Third World countries. Franz Fanon, the Algerian writer and author of
The Wretched of the Earth used the word ‘third world’ at a time when the former colonies of
Asia, Africa and Latin America were emerging as newly independent states. To Fanon, these
former colonies struggling for independence, fighting against exploitation of the imperialist
powers and neo-colonialism constituted the Third World which lay between the capitalist and
socialist worlds. Perhaps, an important fact to bear in mind is that the rise in the number of
newly independent countries changed the architecture of international relations. Once
independent, these countries began to support the struggle against colonialism and racial
discrimination of the other fellow Third World countries. They became a powerful force and
opposed any sort of military alliances or alignments with any of the power blocs of the Cold
War days and established a strong position in the form of NAM (Non-aligned Movement). They,
by their sheer numerical majority, soon emerged as a powerful voice in the United Nations and
there arose a strong demand from the Third World countries to change the unequal pattern of
economic relations and usher in a New International Economic Order (NIEO) and also a New
World Information and Communication Order (NWICO).

Some of the causes of decolonization are discussed below:

(1) Bankruptcy of the Imperial Powers

(2) The US support for Decolonization
(3) Rise of Communism
(4) Rise of Nationalism and National Struggle and the Principle of Self-determination
(5) Role of the United Nations
(6) Role of the Third World countries
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(1) Bankruptcy of the Imperial Powers : The First World War had already exhausted the
imperial powers and the Second World War, fought in quick succession, left them
bankrupt. Huge losses incurred in terms of military, human and material resources
exhausted them economically and politically. Further, the growing resistance to their
domination in the colonies also made them fatigued and it became almost impossible
for them to retain the colonies in Asia, Africa and Latin America. They had to
concentrate on their socio-economic reconstruction at home, which implied that they
had to withdraw from the colonies.
(2) The US Support for Decolonization: The USA, in principle, supported decolonization
efforts in order to contain the spread of communism in these colonies. It championed
the principles of self-determination and efforts to establish democratic governments
that gave further impetus to the struggle against colonial powers.
(3) Rise of Communism: The Communist movement spearheaded by the Soviet Union gave
an undeniable support to the people struggling for liberation in the colonies. The
success of the Russian Revolution of 1917 resulting in the overthrow of the Tsarist
aristocracy and the rise of the USSR as a strong socialist state gave inspiration to the
anti-colonial movements in Asia and Africa. The belief that ran high was that the
imperialists were the exploiters and, therefore, should be ousted. This boosted the spirit
of the nationalists, to fight against colonialism, with renewed vigour.
(4) Rise of Nationalism and National Struggle and the Principle of Self-determination:
While the roots of European nationalism can be found in the European Renaissance, the
emergence of the Third World nationalism can be traced to the struggle of the Third
World people against colonial powers. Imbued with the principle o self-determination,
various nationalist struggles launched massive assault on their colonial masters. The
struggle reached its peak in the aftermath of the Second World War, finally culminating
in the withdrawal of the colonial powers and their subsequent independence.
(5) Role of the United Nations: The Declaration regarding Non-Self Governing Territories in
the UN Charter imposed an obligation on the members regarding the administration of
territories, whose people had not yet reached a full measure of self-government. The
Declaration in Article 73 and 74 clearly indicated that the colonial powers needed to
establish independent governments in the colonies.
(6) The Role of the Third World Countries: Outside of the UN, the Non-Aligned Movement
(NAM) launched by the Third World also played an important role in providing support
to the people fighting for liberation and was vociferous against colonial designs. By
1960, the number of decolonized countries also grew and these countries now came to
enjoy a numerical superiority in the UB General Assembly so much so that they tried
their best to utilize the General Assembly and speed up the process of decolonization
and ensure emancipation of those territories.

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