Decolonization
Colonialism in 1945
Decolonization
(or
decolonisation)
refers to the undoing of colonialism, the es-
tablishment of governance or authority
through the creation of settlements by anoth-
er country or jurisdiction. The term generally
refers to the achievement of independence by
the various Western colonies and protector-
ates in Asia and Africa following World War
II. This conforms with an intellectual move-
ment known as post-colonialism. Decoloniza-
tion can be achieved by attaining independ-
ence,
integrating with the administering
power or another state, or establishing a
"free association" status. The United Nations
has stated that in the process of decoloniza-
tion there is no alternative to the principle of
self-determination. Decolonization may in-
volve peaceful negotiation and/or violent re-
volt and armed struggle by the native popula-
tion. It may be intramural or it may involve
the intervention of foreign powers or interna-
tional bodies such as the League of Nations.
Although examples of decolonization can
be found from ancient times forward, in mod-
ern times there have been several particu-
larly active periods of decolonization. These
are the breakup of the Spanish Empire in the
nineteenth century, of the Austrian and Otto-
man Empires at around the time of World
War I, of the British, French, German, Italian
and American Empires in the wake of World
War II, and of the Russian Soviet Empire fol-
lowing the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
Methods and stages
Decolonisation is a political process, fre-
quently involving violence. In extreme cir-
cumstances, there is a war of independence,
sometimes following a revolution. More of-
ten, there is a dynamic cycle where negoti-
ations fail, minor disturbances ensue result-
ing in suppression by the police and military
forces, escalating into more violent revolts
that lead to further negotiations until inde-
pendence is granted. In rare cases, the ac-
tions of the native population are character-
ized by non-violence, with the Indian inde-