Difference Between Post Colonialism and Neo Colonialism

Key Difference – Post Colonialism vs Neo Colonialism
 

Post Colonialism and Neo Colonialism are two literary and social periods in the history of mankind. Both these periods refer to the period after the western Colonial period. Post colonialism refers to the theoretical approach which showcases the political or the social condition of the former colonies and neo colonialism refers to the use of economic, political, cultural, or other pressures to control or influence other countries, especially the former dependent colonies of the West. Both these indicate the socio-cultural transformations in the countries which were once colonies of the west. The key difference between post colonialism and neo colonialism is that post colonialism refers to the study of the issues with concern to colonialism and the decolonization period whereas neocolonialism refers to the use of the economic and socio-political influential forces by the west to spread their hegemony to the other parts of the world.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Post Colonialism 
3. What is Neo Colonialism
4. Similarities Between Post Colonialism and Neo Colonialism
5. Side by Side Comparison – Post Colonialism vs Neo Colonialism in Tabular Form
6. Summary

What is Post Colonialism?

Post colonialism is the period when decolonization started to emerge in the once colonized countries by the West. This period basically highlights the liberation struggles of the natives of the colonies, their use of literature as a response to the colonizers, etc.

Post Colonialism is the theoretical approach which is concerned with political or the social condition of the former colonies. Hence, it focuses on the study of colonization, the decolonization which involves winning back and reconstituting the native cultures and also the neo-colonising process.  Postcolonialism analyses the metaphysical, ethical and political concerns about cultural identity, gender, nationality, race, ethnicity, subjectivity, language, and power.

Thus, this theory refers to the manifestation of the consequences of colonization in the colonized states by the West. The exploitation of the natural resources, slavery, injustices faced by the natives, political social and cultural corruptions by the colonizers was expressed by these oppressed people through their literature.

The well-known literary figures like Gayatri Spivak, Homi. K Bhaba, Franz Fanon, and Edward Said can be highlighted as the pioneers of this theory. Among them, Edward Said is considered as the pioneer of the post-colonial studies.

What is Neo Colonialism?

Neo-colonialism basically means the period after the decolonization. The transformations in the imperial world order and the socio-political alterations in the colonies after the period of decolonization can be defined as the neocolonial period. The term ‘Neo Colonialism’ was coined by the Ghanaian politician Kwame Nkrumah.

Hence, with the decolonization and the independence of these former colonies, they needed the economical support from the powerful nations to develop. The former colonizers took it as the opportunity to get involved in the economic, social, cultural aspects of these developing countries which were once colonies. Neocolonialism refers to the policy of a powerful nation in seeking political and economic hegemony over an independent nation or extended geographical area without necessarily reducing the subordinate nation or area to the legal status of a colony.

Neocolonialism is the use of capitalism, globalization and cultural imperial power to influence a developing country by the superpower countries in the world. Thus instead of formally capturing and subjugating these developing countries as they did before in the colonial period, they involve in the socio-political and economical activities of these developing countries to spread their hegemony and thus indirectly siege the control of the other developing countries.

What are the Similarities Between Post Colonialism and Neo Colonialism?

• Both deal with the period after the decolonization
• Both showcase the socio-cultural aspects of the need to spread the hegemony of the powerful nations to other developing nations.

What is the Difference Between Post Colonialism and Neo Colonialism?

Summary – Post Colonialism vs Neo Colonialism

Post colonialism and neo colonialism are two theories that deal with the issues that arose after the period of decolonization in the world. Post colonialism deals with showcasing the consequences of colonization and the liberation struggles of the once subjugated states by the colonizers while neo colonialism refers to a theoretical policy used by the powerful nations to indirectly spread their hegemony in the other parts of the world from the decolonization period up to present day.  This can be identified as the difference between post colonialism and neo colonialism.

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References

1.Graham Huggan, ‘The Neocolonialism of Postcolonialism: A Cautionary Note’, Available here.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Kwame nkrumah” (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Edward Said Crop” By User:Briantrejo (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia