Quote: "Decolonization or decolonisation is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas."
The process by which colonial powers withdrew from their empires, granting independence to former colonies.
Colonialism: The practice of acquiring and maintaining colonies by force, where the ruling state controls the majority of the economy, government, and culture of the colonized population.
Imperialism: The policy of extending power and dominion of a nation over other countries through military conquest or economic exploitation.
Nationalism: The ideology that promotes and seeks to maintain the identity and legitimacy of a nation or people, against the intervention or oppression of an external force.
Anti-colonialism: The political movement that seeks to resist and end colonialism and imperialism by promoting independence and sovereignty of colonized people.
Pan-Africanism: The movement that seeks to promote unity, solidarity, and cooperation among the countries and people of Africa, and to achieve greater independence from colonial powers.
Global South: The countries of the world that are economically, politically and socially disadvantaged, who have historically been exploited by colonial powers and struggle with poverty and inequality.
Independence movements: The political and social movements that advocate for the decolonization of specific countries and regions and the establishment of sovereignties free from foreign domination.
Cold War: The ideological conflict and power struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union in the second half of the 20th century, which shaped and influenced the outcome of many decolonization efforts.
Neocolonialism: The political and economic practice whereby former colonial powers still exert significant influence through economic inequality, control of resources and international organizations, to maintain economic and political domination over formerly colonized nations.
Globalization: The process of integration of economies, societies and cultures across geographical and political boundaries, which has had a significant impact on the economies and societies of former colonies.
Independence Struggle: The most common form of decolonization, where colonized countries waged a struggle for independence from their colonial masters.
Peaceful Attainment: Some countries attained decolonization peacefully through negotiation and compromise.
Compromise Decolonization: Sometimes, decolonization occurs through agreements between the colonial powers and the colonial subjects, whereby the colonies gain a level of self-government without becoming completely independent.
Forced and Non-Consensual: Decolonization, which is carried out forcefully, whether by civil disobedience, armed resistance or outright revolution.
Negligent or Smouldering Decolonization: In this form of decolonization, the process is slow and uneventful, but builds and accumulates over time through regulations and policies.
Gradual Decolonization: In this form, the process of decolonization occurs over a period of time through various policies, plans, and measures.
Cultural and Social Decolonization: This form of decolonization focuses on the regeneration of Indigenous cultures, traditions, practices, and beliefs.
Economic Decolonization: The process of decolonizing the economy of colonized countries, often done through policies such as nationalization, a fair distribution of resources, and land reforms.
Political Decolonization: This form of decolonization focuses on ending the political system of imperialism, colonialism, and neocolonialism.
Ecological Decolonization: This form of decolonization emphasizes the importance of preserving the environment and advocating for the rights and respect of Indigenous communities to their land, water, and other natural resources.
Intellectual and Discursive Decolonization: This form of decolonization is focused on questioning the colonial epistemologies and ideas, promoting local knowledge, and creating new narratives that reject colonial discourses.
Biocolonialism: A new form of colonialism whereby colonizing countries and private corporations exploit and appropriate biological resources and knowledge, often from Indigenous communities.
Quote: "The meanings and applications of the term are disputed."
Quote: "Some scholars of decolonization focus especially on independence movements in the colonies and the collapse of global colonial empires."
Quote: "Other scholars extend the meaning to include economic, cultural and psychological aspects of the colonial experience."
Quote: "Decolonization scholars form the school of thought known as decoloniality."
Quote: "Decolonization scholars... apply decolonial frameworks to struggles against the coloniality of power and coloniality of knowledge within settler-colonial states even after successful independence movements."
Quote: "Indigenous and post-colonial scholars have critiqued Western worldviews."
Quote: "promoting decolonization of knowledge and the centering of traditional ecological knowledge."
Quote: "Such a broad approach that extends the meaning of decolonization beyond political independence has been disputed and received criticism."
Quote: "Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò argued that it is analytically unsound to extend the meaning of "coloniality" to this extent."
Quote: "[He] argued that approaches that see 'decolonization' as more than political emancipation deny the agency of people in former colonies who have consciously chosen to adopt and adapt elements from colonial rule."
Quote: "Others, such as Jonatan Kurzwelly and Malin Wilckens or Veeran Naicker, argued that such scholarly and practical attempts at 'decolonization' perpetuate reified and essentialist notions of identities."
Quote: "Some scholars extend the meaning to include economic, cultural and psychological aspects of the colonial experience."
Quote: "Decolonization scholars apply decolonial frameworks to struggles against the coloniality of power and coloniality of knowledge."
Quote: "Indigenous and post-colonial scholars have critiqued Western worldviews."
Quote: "promoting decolonization of knowledge and the centering of traditional ecological knowledge."
Quote: "Such a broad approach that extends the meaning of decolonization beyond political independence has been disputed and received criticism."
Quote: "approaches that see 'decolonization' as more than political emancipation deny the agency of people in former colonies who have consciously chosen to adopt and adapt elements from colonial rule."
Quote: "such scholarly and practical attempts at 'decolonization' perpetuate reified and essentialist notions of identities."
Quote: "Indigenous and post-colonial scholars have critiqued Western worldviews, promoting decolonization of knowledge."