In the traditional scientific discourse, the concept of colonialism is attributed to the end of the 19th century when major European states started to build empires by conquering territories in Asia, Africa, Latin America and other parts of the globe. It resulted in disproportional development of different regions with the domination of the rich countries and hard deprivations in less advantaged ones. While the system of colonial rule came to the end in the middle of the 20th century, Thomas Magstadt (2012) argues that a growing disarray of the modern world is nothing else than the consequence of the colonial system which caused a great number of insoluble problems such as endemic poverty, corruption, lack of social institutions, and violation of human rights. The main task of this paper is to research the legacy of colonialism on the countries suffering from constant political unrest. My thesis is that the negative impact of colonialism can be well traced on the example of Ukraine and Syria, the countries which suffer from military aggression of Russia prompted by the imperial policy conducted by Vladimir Putin.
In his book, Thomas Magstadt (2012) introduces the concept of the least developed countries (LDCs). According to the researcher, “these are countries where the ratio of population to land, jobs, and other factors is unfavorable, where the economy is not highly diversified, and where political stability and public services are lacking” (Magstadt, 2012, p. 211). The other attributive features of such countries are high levels of unemployment, a widespread poverty, a restricted access to education and medical care, social inequality and a high level of corruption. This concept is used by the author to contrast the traditional division into developed and developing countries. Magstadt (2012) indicates that such a division is not right since countries never stop to develop and the problem is in the tempo of this process. Besides, in modern politics development became an ideology which instead of facilitating the growth of countries hampers it. Its main characteristics include a strict division into rich and poor states, providing opportunities for the privileged and controlling disadvantaged. The other obstacles faced by the developing countries include artificially created borders which lead to constant conflicts and ethical hatred inside the states and lead to political unrest and unstable government (Magstadt, 2012). One more serious obstacle is poverty which does not allow the LDC to modernize their economies and to become more competitive (Magstadt, 2012). As a result, these countries have to face hunger, unemployment and a total lack of resources necessary for the development of their social sphere.
Almost all of these problems Thomas Magstadt (2012) explains by the negative impact of colonialism which was the leading doctrine of countries development in the end of the 19th century. The scholar defined colonialism as “The policy of seeking to dominate the economic or political affairs of underdeveloped areas or weaker countries” (Magstadt, 2012, p. 218). Rather often colonialism was closely connected with imperialism which presupposed a territory expansion by means of military conquest. The end of World War II marked the crash of the colonial system and many countries gained independence. However, it does not mean that together with their new status, they received high standards of life and a complete political freedom. Many scholars pointed out that previously widely practiced system of discrimination found its representation in the form of neocolonialism (Magstadt, 2012). It is defined as the ongoing exploitation of the former colonies by the Western states that have been taking place even despite the fact that they received their formal independence in the second part of the 20th century.
It will not be an exaggeration to argue that the controversial legacy of colonialism is felt in all former colonies. On the one hand, certain improvements are healthcare, education, and transportation are often attributed to the financial and technological help the colonies received from their metropolis. On the other hand, people often forget that the mentioned benefits were gained at a very high price because they became the results of long-lasting robbery of their countries and taking away all their resources. There is one more thing that is necessary to remember about colonialism. As Magstadt (2012) indicated, the impact of this doctrine will be felt for many years. He writes that “When the European powers withdrew, they typically created artificial new states by stitching together a crazy quilt of incompatible peoples and cultures. (Iraq, Sudan, and Nigeria are three prime examples)” (Magstadt, 2012, p. 218). It caused chronic political instability, genocides, wars, and revolutions. Unfortunately, all these dramatic events rarely bring desirable results and in their majority, revolutions bring bitter disappointment of people participating in them. The only exception of this claim is Cuba because its revolution brought noticeable improvements such as “a higher life expectancy” and a wider access to education and healthcare (Magstadt, 2012, p. 354). It should be emphasized that while being under foreign rule for many years, former colonies lack the experience of state building, they have an undeveloped state institutions and this fact also considerably hampers their development prospects.
The impact of colonialism, imperialism, and neocolonialism is felt in the former colonies even in the beginning of the 21st century. A bright example illustrating this thesis is Venezuela represented in the film “The Dawn of Dictator” (2017). This state lives in the conditions of the recurrent crisis even despite the discovery of huge deposits of oil. This valuable resource was supposed to bring wealth and stability for the citizens of Venezuela. However, all these hopes fell pitifully flat when Nicolás Maduro came to power and introduced his dictatorship (The Dawn of Dictator, 2017). At present, more than 31 million people live in the conditions of hyperinflation, the immense level of corruption and criminal violence. The country has no legitimate opposition to the politics conducted by Maduro because political parties are barred. So, in a broad sense, Venezuela can be called a country that failed because it is governed by a dictator and has limited possibilities for its development.
It should be mentioned that four countries represented in the film “A World in Disarray” (2017) deserve special attention because they represent potential threats for the whole world associated with the growing desire of former metropolises on their colonies. The authors of the film concentrate on the representation of the ongoing crises in such countries and areas as Syria, Ukraine, the South China Sea, and South Korea. These parts of the globe suffer from the increasing antagonism between great powers which can eventually lead to the development of a new global war. In this respect, Syria and Ukraine can be used as illustrative examples. At present, Syria suffers from the military conflict which destroys the country. It is torn by the opposite forces which found their representation in the pro-Western political forces and pro-Islam political groups. Currently, Syria emerged as the stronghold of the ISIS which supports the establishment of the global caliphate (A World in Disarray, 2017). The situation is deteriorated by the fact that Russia made Syria a target of its political interests and demonstrating its military strength.
The case of Ukraine is even more illustrative in terms of showing potential dangers of colonialism revival. This country is located in Eastern Europe and previously it was a constituent part of the Soviet Union. The country received its independence in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union, but it remained under economic and political control of the Russian Federation. Radical changes in the international policy took place in 2014 when the government of Ukraine announced about its intention to become a member of the European Union (A World in Disarray, 2017). It brought devastating consequences for the country because Russia annexed Crimea and launched a military conflict in the Donbas region (A World in Disarray, 2017). Aggressive actions of Russia were presented as an ongoing civil conflict in the country but in reality, they are nothing else than the demonstration of the imperial policy conducted by Vladimir Putin and his supporters. Despite the fact that this war lasts for three years, recent events show that the conflict is unlikely to be solved in the nearest future. For instance in November 2018, “Russia fired on and seized three Ukrainian naval vessels” (BBC.com, 2018). It should be emphasized that the escalation of the Russian aggression has potential threats for the other countries of the region such as Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Poland, Georgia, etc.
The legacy of colonialism presents serious challenges for the development of countries. Such problems as endemic poverty, political unrest, lack of working state institutions, violation of human rights and outer aggression limit their development potential and in the most serious cases, it can lead to the failed states. It is a very dangerous phenomenon since it gives rise to terrorism which becomes a natural reaction of those who are discriminated. In addition, any cases of failed countries motivate their former metropolises to resume their attempts of grasping power. They unleash military conflicts and it causes a general destabilization of the different region. The mentioned facts prove the claim that the legacy of colonialism is an extremely serious issue which should become the matter of care of all states no matter whether they are rich or poor.