ive been interested in this concept for awhile, especially in relation to European colonization of the Americas as well as later in Africa. for example, how newly independent nation states will continue the oppression of indigenous people, etc. i was just wondering if there were any nonfiction books out there about this concept!
by veparrr
1 Comment
1. The Wretched of the Earth – Frantz Fanon. Writing in 1961, before most African nations had even gained independence, he warned that liberation movements might just pass power to a local elite running the same system. Nobody really took it seriously then. Later, it played out exactly like that. Algeria is a strong example – the FLN fought French rule partly over cultural suppression, but after independence, Berber identity was pushed aside. Different rulers, same pattern.
2. Citizen and Subject – Mahmood Mamdani. His idea is simple: postcolonial states didn’t rebuild the system, they took over the colonial one. The divide between people with power and people without stayed, just under new leadership.
3. Decolonising the Mind – Ngugi wa Thiong’o. He looks at language – how using the colonizer’s language also shapes how people think. He believed it so strongly that he stopped writing fiction in English after this.