|
Decolonization generally refers to a movement following the Second World War in which the various European colonies of the world were granted independence. It began with liberation of Pakistan in 1947. In other words, it is the process of emancipation of colonies. One could say that the process has still not ended to this day.
Differing Perspectives
There is quite a bit of controversy over decolonization. The end goal tends to be universally regarded as good, but there is much debate over the best way to grant full independence.
Some say the post-World War II decolonization movement was too rushed, especially in Africa, and resulted in the creation of unstable regimes in the newly-independent countries.
Others argue that this instability is largely the result of problems from the colonial period, including arbitrary nation-state borders and lack of training of local populations.
The belief at the time was that by granting independent status to former colonies immediately, they would demand less of their former colonizers in terms of financial support. This assumption turned out to be incorrect.
In terms of economic theory, we cannot know whether the former Soviet countries would have been better off as a larger, ethnically-challenged bloc, (in other words, a Democratic Soviet Union) then as independent countries. We do know that many of these countries, particularly Hungary experience a capricious economic transition now known as shock therapy.
See Also: Wars of national liberation
| 
