Monday, 29 April 2024

decolonizing britain... israel... russia... canada... australia... india...

What do we mean by 'decolonizing'?

to free (a people or area) from colonial status : to relinquish control of (a subjugated people or area)

Decolonize Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

Decolonization, process by which colonies become independent of the colonizing country. Decolonization was gradual and peaceful for some British colonies largely settled by expatriates but violent for others, where native rebellions were energized by nationalism.

Decolonization | Definition, Examples, & Facts | Britannica

The first definition is very wide, the second very specific.

And starting with the second, we can look at all sorts of examples:

In the two hundred years following the American Revolutionary War in 1783, 165 colonies have gained independence from Western imperial powers.[25]

Decolonization - Wikipedia

It has got much more complicated lately - especially when we consider the general definition - to relinquish control of (a subjugated people or area)

Britain:

There have been academic studies:

Decolonizing Britain: An Exchange | Modern British History | Oxford Academic

On the right, it's about freeing the UK from American control:

How to decolonise Britain - UnHerd

On the left it's about statues:

Jay Doubleyou: all statues are political

And it's everywhere:

Britain has always been an imperial state, not a national one.

Brexit, Empire, and Decolonization | History Workshop

Yes, everywhere in the UK:

Jay Doubleyou: teaching empire in british schools

Israel:

This is perhaps the most controversial use of the term:

The path to peace in Israel-Palestine is through decolonisation | Opinions | Al Jazeera

Why Israel is Not a Settler Colonial State | AJC

The Decolonization Narrative Is Dangerous and False - The Atlantic

What the left gets wrong about Gaza and “decolonisation” - New Statesman

Russia:

It's not just Russia's imperial goals, but the fact that the country we call 'Russia' is in fact an empire:

Is Russia Europe's last empire? Is its invasion of Ukraine a 'colonial war'? Calls to 'decolonise' Russia are growing - but what would that mean?

BBC Radio 4 - Decolonising Russia

Russia’s history is one of almost ceaseless expansion and colonization, and Russia is the last European empire that has resisted even basic decolonization efforts, such as granting subject populations autonomy and a meaningful voice in choosing the country’s leaders.

Decolonize Russia - The Atlantic

As the successor to the Soviet Union, which cloaked its colonial agenda in anti-imperial and anti-capitalist nomenclature, Russia has yet to attract appropriate scrutiny for its consistent and oftentimes brutal imperial tendencies.

Decolonizing Russia: a Moral and Strategic Imperative – CSCE

Both those who believe a Russian collapse is imminent and those who warn against it agree on one thing: The Russian Federation has never truly been, well, a federation. Decentralization is the key, Khodorkovsky said. Whenever the time comes for the West to lift sanctions, it must negotiate with a government that has received legitimacy from the regions.

Is the West’s Talk of Russian Decolonization Wise?

What used to be the main theme of anti-Western Soviet propaganda back in the 20th century is now a favorite toy of hawkish Atlanticists, pro-Ukraine activists and East European ethnonationalists. Talking about the decolonization of Russia (and Russia alone – one hardly hears about returning Tennessee to the Cherokees) has become the surest way of attracting the attention of institutions that fund scientific research and political activism.

The Controversy of the Decolonization Discourse

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