Decolonization

Decolonization is like a society or country breaking free from the clutches of another powerful nation or group – it’s basically shaking off the colonial status. After World War II, lots of European countries decided they were done being ruled by the big shots and decided to go their own way, aiming for independence.

Types of Decolonization

Basically, there are four types of decolonization:-

Building self-government and creating white settler colonies. Eg- Canada and Australia.
Putting an end to the empirical rule of the British, leading to independence. eg- India
Replacing a formal rule with an informal one, which is also called neo-colonialism. Eg.- Latin America
A change in the rule as one master is replaced by another one. Eg. Indo- China

Timeline of Decolonization

In the early 1900s, Europe was like the superstar of the world – rich, powerful, and oh-so-cultured. But as the 20th century unfolded, Europe’s grip on power began slipping away.
At the start of the century, Russia was calling the shots. However, trouble was brewing. Nationalistic movements were spreading like wildfire in places like China, Egypt, and India, shaking things up.
Fast forward to the aftermath of World War I, and Europe was in turmoil. People were fed up with the exploitation – of their lives, money, and resources. Change was in the air, and the international order in Europe was doing a little shuffle.
Meanwhile, across the globe, fascinating stuff was happening. Mahatma Gandhi was working his magic in India, Kemal Ataturk was taking charge in Turkey, and China was making waves with the 4th of May Movement. Over in Indonesia, a whopping 2.5 million folks joined the nationalist movement.
By the early 20th century, the once-mighty British Empire was showing signs of wear and tear. But hey, empires gotta empire, right? The Brits weren’t shy about getting a bit brutal to cling on to their existence.
Then World War II rolled around, and by 1945, the cool kids on the block were the United States and Russia. Poor Britain was feeling the economic pinch, and it needed a helping hand from the US to keep the money flowing.
So there you have it – the 20th-century saga of rise, fall, and the ever-shifting balance of power.

Stages of Decolonization

There are five stages of Decolonization:-

Rediscovery and Recovery: This stage is characterized by growing desperation or discontent among the Individuals or society towards the colonial rule. The colonial power is constantly reminding the colonized society of their cultural and exponential drawbacks and this creates a threat to the society.

Mourning: This stage is an acceleration of the previous stage and signifies mourning over any losses or victimization that occurred to them as a part of colonization. Society grieves over the losses and the anger of the people is often expressed in the form of frustration build-up and protests.

Dreaming: Dreaming is a very crucial stage of decolonization as it involves dreaming over future possibilities and preparing a framework for a new social order. The stage is often expressed by debates and discussions where the society is trying to lay the foundations of the new society which is completely free and very vulnerable to threats.

Commitment: This stage marks the success of the third stage where people expressed their opinions and raised their voices. But in this stage, the voices are gathered together, all in tone with each other, with a single goal and ready to jump-start the process of decolonization and creating a joint frame of people, their voices, and their desires to get themselves freed.

Action: The last and final stage is the Action taking stage, which is the culmination stage and where the desire for independence is associated with action in the forms of violence or movements. This stage has a set goal and the society as a whole is working towards the fulfillment of this goal. However, the Thai stage has changed its shape over the past many years. Now, the action stage is discovered through various information sources such as newspapers, TV, the internet, etc. and this has quite a far-reaching impact on the mind of the society.

Scope of Decolonization

Decolonization is essentially about giving nations or societies the right to break free and establish a more stable form of self-governance after a period of colonization. When a community or nation decides it’s time to take charge of its destiny through decolonization, various paths unfold. These pathways include national movements and protests, which can take on either a peaceful or confrontational nature. Changes may occur organically within the country, driven by the will of the people, or they may be facilitated by external influences, such as intervention from foreign entities.

Conclusion

Post Decolonization, the independent nation is burdened with a whole new responsibility to serve its people in the right manner. However, just before gaining freedom, the colonies started gaining autonomy on the inside but all that led to growth in conflicts of interests, and economic diversities. Decolonization has a much wider impact on the whole system and it takes years to come back to the original rich taste of the society.