Alexey Skyban (14201708)
Intro International Politics
13 October 2014
Unwillingness to do what is Right
Decolonization after 1945 undoubtedly caused more harm than good. Inevitably, colonized countries across the globe would have eventually requested sovereignty. Today, many decolonized countries are beginning to prosper and flourish; however, their path to such a state was long and challenging. The fluke in decolonization was not that it happened, but the way it did. Only concerned with self-interest and prosperity domestically, European Empires were blinded to the consequences of abandoning their colonies without any guidance or support. Poor decolonization of Burma resulted in widespread oppression, downfall of the economy, and violation of human rights. Britain left Burma with a very weak government unable to control its own country. As a result, the democratic government was overthrown and a ruthless tyrant rose to power.
Before British rule, Burma was a wealthy,
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The new government was continuously challenged by communists and under-represented ethnic groups. Home to one of the largest diversity of ethnic groups, it was extremely challenging to please all. With demands of, “protection of ethnic culture, language, and religion, the devolution of tangible executive, legislative, and judicial power to the ethnic states within a true federal union, and a democratic form of government” (ConflictMap.org) not met, the ethnic groups turned to violence. As a result, Burma experienced intense periods of civil war which devastated and destabilized the country even further. As the economy collapsed, U Nu was forced out of office by General Ne Win in order to “restore law and order”. U Nu was re-elected in February 1960, but two years later on March 2nd 1962, Ne Win seized power in a coup d'état and proclaimed himself to be Burma’s new military
The process of decolonization proved to have its own struggles within those who were seeking their independence from imperialist powers. Evidently, these nationalist movements were different in many regions, but they generally shared the sentiment that “Westernization” had taken something away from them. This proved to be the case in Africa and Asia, where the colonization movement from imperialist powers was of strong presence, and that had trouble weakening during and after the Cold War. Part of this struggle was due to the forms of government that were imposed, and because many of these colonies had been in this position for such long time that they were not able to predict upcoming conflicts after their independence. However, in many cases, the problems were more complicated and often implied a combination of reaction to westernization and internal conflicts. Undoubtedly,
Established in 1961, the Special Committee of Decolonization is a body of the United Nations, an international bureaucratic agency, working towards the just treatment and interaction of Non-Self-Governing individuals. This body still operates in the present day. The Special Committee of Decolonization defines Non-Self-Governing Territories “whose people have not yet attained a full measure of self-government”. (United Nations 2017) In essence, a nation where foreign, commonly colonial powers dictate the lives of people who have and maintain rich, diverse, historical, and cultural existence in the world for millennia. And while The Special Committee of Decolonization, works towards the decolonization of these nations, they fail to end the scourge of informal imperialism.
Imperialism changed the society of the mother countries colonies. When British started establishing themselves in Southeast Asia in the 1800’s the people of Canton were not happy about their presence. They referred to the English “as nature's more greedy than anacondas or swine,” (The People of Canton, 3) and “Dogs, whose desires can never be satisfied.” (The People of Canton, 12) They thought that the only way to rebel against them, even if the gods are disappointed in them at the moment. Not all societies viewed the British as a “villainous,” and “beast-like.” The people of India thought the British helped their society for the better. The English helped them with the “destruction of dacoits, thugs, pindarees and other pests of Indian Society.”
As society has progressed, the evolution of imperialism has come to a point where people see it has pure history. It has vanished from our daily lives as we have not recently witness a country trying to dominate another. In “Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell, we are able to envision the lives of the Burmese as they were involuntarily controlled by the British. In the early 1900’s we are told a true story of Orwell himself where he was once established in Burma was apart of his military service. During his service, he describes his living situation by noting that the army as well as himself were not appreciated. He mentions, “As a police officer I was an obvious target and was baited whenever it seemed safe to do so.”(1) One day he
This essay will focus on the decolonisation of India by the British Empire and the problems they encountered. It will also aim to bring recognition to the struggle decolonisation brought upon the world after World War II. Pierce states that “after the War concluded, a worldwide process of decolonisation commenced in which Britain granted independence to all of its major colonies, beginning notably in India” (Pierce, 2009). India had struggled with uprisings and conflicts for the many years of British occupation but when Gandhi began sharing his social efforts; the perceptions of colonialism began to change leading to the collapse of the British colonial Empire. Gandhi began changing the lives of regular Indian’s with his popular visions, he also advocated for the people of India in a non-violent
The New Imperialism during the 19th century throughout Africa and Asia was an influential prompt to the rise of colonialism and powerful European empires. Consisting of raw materials, markets for European business, and provided resources made the African and Asian colonies extremely ingenious for European empires. However, as the 20th century emerged, imperialism suddenly faded and became a sentiment of the past. Surely even one of the most influential empires at a certain point in time – Britain, gradually came at ease with dropping its imperial rule over some colonies. Likewise, following gory and extensive battles, a parallel approach was taken by France. Nevertheless, the utmost spark to the 20th century decolonization was primarily
Theoretically - and secretly, of course - I was all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors, the British" (p.3). Seeing the "dirty work" of the British Imperialists "oppressed me with an intolerable sense of guilt" (3).
The leaders include the president of Burma, Thein Sein, and a famous politician of the country, Aung San Suu Kyi. The two groups comprise of the Sangha, which is a community of Buddhist monks, and the Rakhine Nationalities Development Group (RNDG), which is a political party in Myanmar. In 1991, Aung San Suu Kyi won the Nobel Peace Prize for forming the National League for Democracy and coincidently disapproved of violence and hoped that all ethnic groups could “cooperate in harmony.” Since then, she has denied any evidence of an ethnic cleansing, when asked about it in an interview and she has talked about the Rohingya Muslims, stating that “They are not our citizens.” The president, Thein Sein, has done many things to contribute to the ethnic cleansing. He has come up with ideas to end the ethnic cleansing, such as “expelling” the muslims from the country or getting the United Nations to “resettle” them somewhere else.
What effect has decolonization brought? The decolonized nations cope with their own course of action on all fronts - economic, social, political and cultural. Even as they struggle to rid themselves of the shackles of the erstwhile influences, they try to regain touch with their ‘golden past’ and also believe in a brighter future. With centuries of economic exploitation to undo, it does seem to be a daunting task. However, colonial theorists like Frantz Fanon believe that the colony regaining its place in the order, returning to its hierarchic origin is but inevitable.
Just as struggles between the upper and lower class were born from a lack of understanding for the other man’s condition in the early days of industrialization, the same is true for the times of imperialism. The English in Burmese Days have taken control of the area with no
There is an extensive history empirical power, repeatedly and successfully controlling another state or group of people in order to exploit it economically. In Southeast Asia there were 5 colonial powers; the United Kingdom, France, Dutch, America, and Japan, their primary motives for establishing colonies in the region was to get control of trade routes, to get access to the natural resources and raw materials, and the cheap labor, as well as to establish naval and military bases so that they could amass influence in the region. Prior to World War II, a third of the world 's area was colonized by European colonial powers between the 15th and 19th centuries, and another third of the world 's population were in colonies, dependencies, protectorates, or dominions. In this essay, I will focus on the British and French colonization in Southeast Asia. The British-controlled Burma, most of the Malayan peninsula, and Singapore, which was a strategic port and later became a naval base for the British. Meanwhile, the French controlled the adjoining countries of Vietnamese, Cambodia, and Laos, collectively known as French Indochina. This period of colonization in Southeast Asia brought many changes to the regions society, politics, and the economy. For instance, both colonial powers introduced political changes such as introducing a centralized form of government and changes to the justice systems in many of the colonized countries. There were also social impacts resulting from the
Despite that there is some recognition that colonialism and post-colonialism is important, Loomba raises some warnings in this regards. Although that most of the countries that were in one point of their history colonized by a western nation are freed now, they are facing a new type of domination: the domination through the economic system. In most of the cases some form of capitalism. Most of the development of the western nation are due to cheap (or free) labor and production factors that were obtained through violence from the colonized nations. Could it possible for US to develop the cotton industry without slavery? Could Spain finance every single war without the Inca’s gold? Could Great Britain that industrialized nation without their colonies? So when These nation complains about the development
Burma, like many other Southeast Asian nations, is a land of much culture and diversity of ethnic groups. Unfortunately, unlike the people of other nations, the people of Burma have been stripped of their human rights. Since the military junta had overtaken the Burmese government in 1988, the people of Burma have been among the most oppressed people in the world. The continuation of the government’s brutality has caught the attention of many outside nations around the world who increasingly have been intervening in Burma’s issues to help its people. As these occurrences are a major issue for the people of Burma, these problems are not restricted to its boundaries. They are also becoming a problem for
Decolonization can be achieved by gaining independence, along with interaction of power also, it is a political process that causes violence in in a lot of circumstances and may sometimes be resolved by negotiating on peaceful terms. But can also lead to violent resistance and arm struggle by the native population. Eventually with World War coming to an end, it brought a revolution of decolonization in many countries. For many people, this was a positive thing as they were to obtain independence from colonies and empires. Decolonization was a long process to begin with, it took almost thirty years after World War II for some places. With colonial powers getting weaker, that was great chance for independence for Africa and Asia. Not only
In July 1988, decline in economic conditions led to large-scale and bloody rioting in cities in Burma. In Sept 1988, the army under General U.Saw Maung replaced the Government with the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), a group of military officers. In 1990, SLORC proposed a new government and allowed free elections with the confidence that it would win, but 80% of the seats were won by the civilian opposition party led by Suu Kyi. But it refused to turn over the power to the civilian government. It outlawed