Since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, there have been many nations that have been vocal about the situation, but there is one group of countries whose silence, or at least indeterminacy, has been curious, but on further analysis perhaps not as mysterious as it might at first seem. I refer to those countries that have historically either been critical of humanity’s past imperial ambitions or have been at the receiving end of them.
Has there been a better chance for all those who define their political outlook by their opposition to colonial hegemony to shine? And now that we are in a period in which loud voices in favor of a ceasefire favorable to the nation being invaded could make a difference, it is an especially good moment for countries that have experienced colonialism in recent history to step in. There is a deafening silence. Where are all the decolonizers?
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It is disappointing that some countries that experienced European colonialism, including those with historical links to the Soviet Union, have chosen to remain indifferent, or ambiguous, towards this war. A surprising number of Asian and African nations would not sign the peace agreement calling for recognition of Ukrainian territorial integrity in June last year.
The peace agreement was a momentous opportunity for those nations to reject colonial force as a way to reshape the world, and especially to back up that conviction with the moral authority derived from their own experiences of 19th-century colonialism. Some countries, especially India and China, have a potency, born of their experiences and their now considerable stature and economic force, to speak against imperialism.
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A principled stand against imperialism
Do we have a principled stand against colonialism that we are willing to apply to any re-emergence of this disease or do we not? Do we think that the territorial integrity of nations should be respected as a way of preventing the age-old habit of expanding empires by arbitrary brute force and violence or do we not?
The short-term enjoyment of kicking against the Western world, or playing geopolitical games, by taking a neutral stand toward these principles with respect to Ukraine will be a disaster for everyone. It will eventually come back to haunt those who were not willing to stand up for them when they had the chance, since it haunts the world with the possibility of a second age of imperialism.
Some people will claim that such criticisms are hypocritical and high-handed coming from anyone in the West, especially in the light of the age of European empires. However, the democratic world’s past imperialist adventures, and some of the terrors they led to, are not in dispute. Let me dispense right away with the shibboleth that an article like this is an attempt to divert from those realities.
Because colonialism is something we can agree is a blight, the decolonizers have seized upon it as a tool to chide the West and its history as a cheap and easy way to gain moral ascendency.
History should not muddy two essential points.
First, the depredations of European colonialism must not erode the capacity to criticize this affliction wherever it appears. Whataboutism, that Soviet propaganda trick, is a logically poor basis for an argument. If we call ourselves anti-imperialists and anti-colonialists, then our true test is whether we are willing to confront and criticize this behavior wherever and whenever it occurs.
Second, despite the problems of our past, the democratic world stands for many ideas and values that are not perfect, but good nonetheless.
The principles we falteringly strive towards include impartial law, accountable government, and freedoms, which include freedom of speech, assembly and religion. They constitute the basis of our states. The liberal democratic order has provided a foundation for countries that seek to uphold the dignity of the individual and their liberty. This substructure has taken centuries to construct. It is no failure to laud this achievement, to love it and speak out actively in support of it.
An acceptance of egregious episodes in our history, and failures in the present day, should not cloud our willingness to defend these advances. Just for the record, let’s remember that it was Western liberalism and its free discourse that eventually led to the abolition of slavery, a scourge since the birth of human societies and one that is still rife in some nations today. Notable Western names in the canon of Western political philosophy, such as Scottish philosopher Adam Smith and author of “The Wealth of Nations,” were opposed to colonialism.
In my view, many people have allowed historical injustices to confuse their ability to honestly stand against colonialism and in the process, they conveniently ignore the many advances in the ideas of freedom encouraged by Western civilization. Because colonialism is something we can agree is a blight, they have seized upon it as a tool to chide the West and its history as a cheap and easy way to gain moral ascendency.
Decolonization and the invasion
The war against Ukraine proves the case. If decolonizers really are opposed to imperialism as such, they would rally against the war with boldness. They would speak unambiguously against it, the most brazen example of colonial expansion on the European continent since the Second World War. However, even when they find it in themselves to criticize the attack on Ukraine, that inner voice that wants them to criticize the West has caused paralysis.
Countries aside, the same contradictions are to be found in individuals. There is a miscellaneous potpourri of the right wing, socialists, and communists who claim to be anti-imperialists. Like states, these individuals feel a reticence in standing with democratic nations against the invasion of Ukraine, probably because they can’t bring themselves to condemn the invasion if it means diluting their criticism of the West.
Then there is the academic world. Academies around the world have launched a concerted focus on decolonization efforts. They have established well-meaning programs dedicated to “decolonizing the curriculum.”
On the face of it, these efforts should be a welcome and timely development. A new and expansive pool of anti-colonialists has arrived just in the nick of time to exercise their new-found enlightenment. Here too, there is an unsettling ambivalence, but one that becomes less paradoxical if one concludes that academic decolonization efforts are sometimes motivated by a repudiation of the history of Western society, and less by a principled desire to remove colonial tendencies from humanity anywhere they occur.
Instead of concerning ourselves with trying to right the past, which we cannot modify, erase or reverse, we should be using the lessons of the past to alter the future, over which we do have some measure of control.
Those who honestly believe in decolonization, and wish to see the construction of states that uphold democratic values and international order, should rally. All those who declare themselves to be champions of a world free of military imperialism should lead the way in affirming the territorial integrity of states. In so doing, we cannot change history, but we can use our efforts to advance a future in which imperial wars of aggression are banished everywhere.
The views expressed in this opinion article are the author’s and not necessarily those of Kyiv Post.
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