Sociology

International politics over the course of history has been witnessing distinct phenomenas revolving around the major dimension of state interaction and pursuance of national interests using power as the most influential tool to subdue others. The realist notions have been dominating the arena of international politics while the rich states have been in the constant struggle for finding markets in the world for enhancing their trade and economies (Bush 2006). Total subjugation of states, societies and communities was done for the purpose of exercise of power, maintain dominance in the world order and foster economies. Furthermore, civilizational domination was also embarked upon the subdued nations their wealth was transported to the native landing the form of raw materials, human resource, jewels and minerals.

The instruments of national policy of most of the European powers in past have been the notions of imperialism and colonialism (Bush 2006). The term imperialism is very vast in meanings and manifestations. The Webster dictionary defines it as the aggregate of various economic, political and social policies by which an imperial power maintains or extends its control over other areas or people. It is a frame of work which aims at creating, organizing and maintaining an empire. It has been primarily a western concept that employs expansionist, mercantilist and communist systems over the dominated nations and societies in the name of civilizing and developing them (Pitts 2005). The control of one state over other territories is being exercised through the instruments of politics or military that is the direct form of imperialism or the sword of economy is used by establishing unequal trade relations with the other territory that is the indirect form imperialism (Bush 2006). Moreover the traditional ways of life and ways of thinking are also subordinated to the culture of the imperialists.

The connotation of imperialism refers to a political or geographical entity on the world stage such as the Portuguese Empire, the Ottoman Empire, Spanish Empire, the Dutch Empire, the Roman Empire, the British Empire, the Persian Empire and the American Empire (Pitts 2005). Similarly the notions of imperialism refer to the paradigms of knowledge, beliefs and values, for instance the empire of Christianity or Islam.

Generally the phenomenon of imperialism has existed for thousand years in the history of China, Persia, Rome, India and Greece, while the phrase Age of Imperialism particularly refers to the imperialism of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States (Bush 2006).

The motives behind imperialistic approach are multifaceted. Economic gains have been the major driving force behind pursuing such policies. There is an inherent psychological urge in nations for supremacy and dominancy. For instance the Englishmen have always felt proud of the fact that the sun never sets on the British Empire. The racist ideology of Hitler is world famous the expansionist adventure was highly motivated by the superior notions of German culture and traditions and the Marshal image of that race.

The leaders of these imperialist powers had also a belief that the greater good their civilisation and culture must be imparted to other people in the world who are either backward or they are lesser breeds. The Whiteman took this responsibility to uplift the yellow man of Asia and the Blackman of Africa (Bickers, Henriot 2000). Bernard Shah says that Every English man is born with a certain miraculous power that makes him the master of the world (Said 1979), Rudyard Kipling writes that the responsibility of governing India has been placed by the inscrutable decree of Providence upon the shoulders of the British race (Bickers, Henriot 2000).

The imperialism is also used to enhance the defence line by creating buffer states for the protection of empire. Moreover troops and war materials are also obtained from the subdued nations. For instance Britain was supplied with 400000 Indian troops during WWI (Bickers, Henriot 2000).  

According to Lenin the notions of imperialism were termed as the highest stage of capitalism in the world. This was preached as an explanation for First World War. It was argued that imperialism is the outcome of the monopoly phase of capitalism, in which the capitalist nations had no option other than to engage in war for raw materials and market. The dependency school of thought and Marxist view of imperialism focuses on the economic relations between the countries, this view is in the contrast with the traditional concept of imperialism which seeks direct control and authority over other territories.

The form of economic imperialism is said to be the start of capitalism as the European traders had the technology to move about high seas and calculate the trade benefit with regard to a particular country thus channelising them to Europe. This phenomenon led to the concentration of production and capital resulting in the emergence of national and multinational monopolies. The impact over society was enormous, racism, rebellion, ethnic strife, freedom movements took over the subjugated classes to a new struggle of survival.
 
Irony of the faith has been the notions of justification of imperialism by various thinkers. To the worst extent the defense is carried out on scientific grounds. Hobson maintains that it is desirable that the earth should be peopled, governed and developed as far as possible by the by the races which can do this work best, those are the races of highest social efficiency. Most often the cases of imperialism in the history have resulted in the displacement of natives from their mother lands thus depriving them from their basic right of freedom to live on their mother land. In the latter 17nth century the British Columbia was divided into two regions, for natives and for the foreigners, mostly natives were forcibly dragged out of their area. The justification for the imperialist evacuation was that the said land wasnt properly and efficiently used by the local population so that was to be taken over by the occupiers who thought themselves to be racially superior- the white mans burden.

The expansion of a society to the extent that it incorporates adjacent or far away territories, settle own people on the conquered land making it a colony the phenomenon is known as colonialism. It is the making and maintaining of colonies in one distinct territory by people of another territory, where its sovereignty is exercised by the colonizer in addition to the control of government machinery, social structure and economy. The term colonialism is often used synonymously with imperialism. In broad sense the difference is not clear but the structural distinction do exists. The interest is in the imperialist tendency is to maintain an empire, while a colony could be a smaller entity as well. Both colonialism and imperialism were forms of conquest that were expected to benefit Europe economically and strategically. The term colonialism has been used generally to describe the settlements such as, Australia, North America, New Zealand, Algeria, and Brazil that were controlled by a large population of permanent European residents. On the other hand the terminology of imperialism often describes examples in which a foreign government tackles a territory without considerable settlement typical examples include the scramble for Africa in the late nineteenth century and the American domination of the Philippines and Puerto Rico. The distinction between the two, however, is not entirely consistent in the literature. Some scholars distinguish between colonies for settlement and colonies for economic exploitation. Others use the term colonialism to describe dependencies that are directly governed by a foreign nation and contrast this with imperialism, which involves indirect forms of domination.

The phenomenon of colonisation can be traced back to ancient Greece where the city states used to colonize each other, the Romans and the ottomans. Previously it was not restricted to time and place but with the passage of time the face of colonialism changed, the reason was societal and technological development particularly in 16nth century. Generally the term is referred to the time between 15nth and 16nth century when specifically Europe was colonizing the world for its greater profits, power expansion and cultural hegemony.

A history long debate has been going on between the thinkers of different nations such as German, French and Britishers over the issue of legitimacy of colonialism in eighteenth and nineteenth century. Thinkers such as Kant, Smith and Diderot have always been very critical of the barbaric face of this phenomenon and challenged the idea that Europeans were supposed to civilize the rest of the world because they just thought that they were more civilized, efficient, chosen ones and superior.

The system of colonial domination, which involved some combination of slavery, quasi-feudal forced labour, or expropriation of property, is antithetical to the basic Enlightenment principle that each individual is capable of reason and self-government (Muthu 2003). Thus rise of anti-colonial political theory, however, required more than a universalistic ethic that recognized the shared humanity of all people. The conquest of Spain of America started a theological, political, and ethical debate about the legitimacy of using military force in order to acquire control over foreign lands (Tocqueville 2001).

This debate took place within the framework of a religious discourse that legitimized military conquest as a way to facilitate the conversion and salvation of indigenous peoples. Initially it was the wars in the name of religion that provided rationalisation of the possessions and conquests (Tocqueville 2001). Apart from the religious dimensions the main reasons have been economic drives for the pursuit of trade avenues and prestige in the global world order.

The notions of cultural imperialism are evident with the fact the English language is the primary language of over 300 million people and the secondary language of over 400 million people helped in part by the cultural influence of the United States, itself a product of the British Empire. British colonial architecture, such as in churches, railway stations and government buildings, continues to stand in many cities that were once part of the British Empire. Ball games that were developed in Victorian Britainfootball, cricket, rugby, lawn tennis and golf were exported, as were the British choice of system of measurement.

The abundance of resources and raw materials led Europeans to desire the ownership of natives including their land and possession (Harvey 2006). However, they did not covet the same things in the same way. English colonists who came from a region where land is of major concern began colonizing only to own the natives land. They conquered properties categorically depriving the native of their land ownership (Harvey 2006).

In contrast to Britain the Spanish and the Portuguese did not hold much importance to the land. The main objective of colonisation was the control of people and their labour (Harvey 2006). They conquered people while allowing the natives to remain in their lands in exchange for humiliation. The distinction between the English and Spanish colonies is often rooted with the demographic and historical encounters. This argument states that English colonists found hunter-gatherers in North America whereas the Spaniards found large civilisations like the Aztecs and the Incas (Harvey 2006).
           
Giving money in exchange for the land was considered a desirable way of obtaining the possession of the Indians. It was considered a form of charity since they are not obligated to do so. However, Indians are left without the right to refuse purchase of the land and seek contracts favourable to them. Colonists view money as a form of generosity to acquire the land but the Indians are not free to contacts. On the other hand, the French did not bought lands from the Indians but asked their permission to live with them. Along with the Dutch, they exchanged gifts and other goods with the Indians.

These colonialist applied tax system in those colonized regions. The payment was often a great burden to the natives. Also, the American natives suffer humiliating behaviours of the Spaniards. Spanish settlers also used the labour of the Indians. These Indians were entrusted to the settlers to become converted and educated.

The largest ethnic minority in Britain are the people from African and Caribbean descent. Generally the image about them is that they are only specialized in doing low cadre jobs. This connotation holds the psychology of imperialism and colonialism as they were brought by force to Britain as a credible work force to be utilized as labour in both domestic spheres of society and industries. The history of racism against these African people is age old, they are always considered as inferior race brought for labour, these racist tendency often lead to criminal behaviour among different factions o societies, moreover they are subjected to institutional exploitation and victimisation as well.

The second largest ethnic community comes from the subcontinent comprising of Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. India had been a famous colony of Britain in 18nth century and was divided when it left that territory. The minorities still feel the same way thought they enjoy better status that of Africans but still they generally live in their isolated communities. The image of Islam accompanied by the colonial legacy has always come to play when it comes to social structure in the multiethnic modern society of Britain. The fundamentalist element has also been observed in these communities as a reaction to the local cultural patterns practiced by the natives. For instance the term Paki is used to identify people belonging to Pakistan, this identity holds colonial and racial meanings directed towards a community who not only getting benefitted from the British society but at are also contributing to the society in one way or the other.

The questions of miscegenation the alleged ties between colonial enterprises, genocides and the questions of the nature of imperialism, dependency theory and neo-colonialism (in particular the Third World debt) continues to attract wide discussion and debate. Attitudes developed during the colonial period continue to impact the lives of many people in the world today, informing how people in the rich north view those in the poorer South as well as minorities within the South of migrant origin.

On the other hand, such colonial projects as those of the Spanish, French, and British spread language, and shared ideals, around much of the globe. Despite all the negative experiences of colonialism, communication and transportation infrastructures built during colonial times have brought more and more people into contact with each other. More and more people understand themselves as citizens of the world and realize that such challenges as the ecological crises, eradicating poverty, combating disease can only be met by global cooperation among the nations. Talk of universal human rights and the view that shared values permeate the cultures and faiths of the world, despite their diversity and variety and some differences too, would be inconceivable but for the colonial heritage and legacy.

The notions of imperialism and colonialism though have been benefitting the powerful nations they have left lasting impact on the colonized societies. The foremost impact has been the cultural domination at the expense of local traditions. The meanings of development were given by colonizers. The pace of evolution of societies and their development was disrupted and damaged badly by these interventions in the name of greater good and civilisation prophesy. This disruption has lead to the widening gap between the global North and the global South, thus creating a first world and third world. The core countries in the world have dominated the peripheries politically economically and militarily. The notions of imperialism and colonialism exists today in the form of complex interdependence- the trade regimes, the WTO, the MNCs restricting the global capital to the first world only leaving poverty, civil war, disease in third world (Africa). Cultural traffic, despite the racist attitudes of many colonizers towards the colonized, too, was never one way. Many people in the West see deep and profound value in aspects of Chinese, Indian, indigenous peoples (traditional) religion, in Sufi Islam. Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam have attracted many Western converts (Rees 2001). New Age and New Religious Movements and other phenomena often fuse ideas from East and West. The non-Western world has also absorbed much from the West, keeping what it wants, adapting and adjusting technologies and ideas to suit local requirements, or to conform to local values.

Colonialism can be seen as essential to the process of creating a global consciousness of an inter-dependent world community in which the welfare of all people and the health of the planet itself is the responsibility of all (Rees 2001). Humanity may be evolving to a stage when exploitation of others and promotion of self-interest over-and-against that of others will yield to a new way of being human in which humanity seeks to promote the well-being of the whole, and to restore its broken relationship with the one planet on which all people live, our common planetary home. On the one hand, talk of a clash of civilisations raises alarm bells but on the other this has been countered by the United Nations dialogue among civilisations, which includes exploration of the role that religions can play in promoting inter-civilisation harmony (Rees 2001).