Course Title: Issues in

Development Economics
Course Code:ECN 306
Dr Monica A. Orisadare
Department of Economics
OAU, IlE-Ife
 Module 6
Theory of Imperialism
Objectives
At the end of this class you should be able to
• Define the concept of Imperialism

• Identify the motives for Imperialism

• Explain the theories for Imperialism

• Explain the relationship between Imperialism

and underdevelopment
Outline
• Meaning of Imperialism

• Motives for Imperialism

• Relationship between Imperialism and

underdevelopment
What is Imperialism?
• Imperialism is a situation in which a country
controls another country.

• The stronger one is usually an industrial and

western (European, US, Canada etc).

• Imperialism," says Lenin, "emerged as the

development and direct continuation of the
fundamental characteristics of capitalism in
general.
Imperialism
Motives For Imperialism
Various motives prompt empires to seek to
expand their rule over other countries or
territories. These include
• Economic

• Exploratory

• Ethnocentric

• Political and
Economic Motive

• Imperial governments, and/or private companies under

those governments, sought ways to maximize profits.
• After the advent of the Industrial Revolution, dependent
colonies often provided to European factories and markets
the raw materials they needed to manufacture products.

• Imperial merchants often established trading posts and

warehouses, created transportation infrastructure, and
sought control over strategic choke points, such as the
Suez Canal in Egypt (which allows boats to cut thousands
of miles of travel time between Asia and Europe).

• Imperial powers often competed with each other for the

best potential resources, markets, and trade.
Exploratory Motive
• Imperial nations or their citizens wanted to
explore territory that was, to them, unknown.

• Sometimes they did this for the purpose of

medical or scientific research.

• At other times, they did it for the sense of

adventure. Invariably, imperial explorers
sought to discover, map, and claim territory
before their imperial competitor did, partly for
national and personal glory and partly to serve
the imperialist goal of expansion.
Ethnocentric Motive
• Imperial nations sometimes believed that their
cultural values or beliefs were superior to other
nations or groups

• Imperial conquest, they believed, would bring

successful culture to inferior people. In the late
19th century, for example, European powers
clung to the racist belief that inferior races
should be conquered in order to “civilize” them.

• The Europeans acted on their ethnocentrism,

the belief that one race or nation is superior to
Political Motive
• Patriotism and growing imperial power spurred
countries to compete with each others for
supremacy.

• It’s a matter of national pride, prestige and security.

Empires sought strategic territory to ensure access
for their nativies and armies around the world.

• The empire must be defended and, better yet,

expanded. Political motives were often triggered as
responses to perceived threats to the security or
prestige of the imperial power or its citizens
abroad.
Religious Motives
• During imperial expansion, religious people sometimes set out
to convert new members their religion and, thus, their empire.

• Christian missionaries from Europe, for example, established

churches in conquered territories during the nineteenth century.

• In doing so, they also spread Western cultural values.

• For instance, missionaries spread the imperial nation’s language

through educational and religious interactions, although some
missionaries helped to preserve indigenous languages.

• British missionaries led the charge to stop the slave trade in the
nineteenth century, while others, such as French missionaries in
Vietnam during the same time period, clamored for their
country to take over a nation.
Relationship between Imperialism
and underdevelopment
• At independence, most African states were
exposed to and incorporated into a world system
that they are not matured enough to
advantageously play the politics inherent in it and
thus are left at the mercy of the imperial-capitalist
nations of the West who own and run the system
in their national interest.

• The developed countries of the North employ

various methods to exploit developing countries of
the South. These methods include inter alia
economic, social as well as political methods.
Economic dimension
• The imperialist nations of the west invest much in the
developing countries of Africa through multinational
corporations (MNCs).

• These companies exploit market area and cheap labour.

• The industrialized or imperialist nations also used their

MNCs (Multinational Corporations) or even
Transnational Corporations to further plunder the
resources of the third-world till today.

• As a classical example, North-America and European

corporations have acquired control of more than three-
fourths of the known mineral resources of Asia, Africa
• Transnational’s have developed a global production
line. General motors’ has factories that produce
cars, trucks and a wide range of auto components
in Canada, Brazil, Venezuela , Spain, Belgium,
Yugoslavian, Nigeria, Singapore, Philippines, South
Africa, South Korea and a dozen other countries.

• Another economic method is world market control.

Europe and America control the world market by
fixing price of African cash crops and by keeping
the prices low, they make Africa remain dependent
on their aids.

• Thus these nations are perpetually kept in a

Giving of loans and grants:
• Another economic tool utilized by the west
against Africa is the giving of loans and grants.

• Imperialist nations make use of financial

institutions such as World Bank, IMF, IFC to give
the developing countries loans and grants
accompanied by very high interest rate and
unrealistic conditionality.

• This proves hard for African nations to pay back

in the long run, which results to debt burden
and hence underdevelopment and dependence;
• Technology is another economic tool of
northern dominance.

• There is a minimum technology transfer from

the rich countries of the west to the poor
countries of Africa even in a situation of import
substitution.

• For example, in Nigeria, the Coca Cola

Company brings machinery but do not allow
the staff members from Nigeria to access the
technological knowhow of the manufacturing
process of soft drinks.
Socio-cultural dimension
• The west also utilize the mass media in the maintenance of
an asymmetrical international order.

• Through worldwide mass media such as BBC, CNN, VOA,

DW, the imperialist west disseminate information that
psychologically justify their activities in Africa.

• Education is also used by the neo-colonialist to exploit

developing countries. In the developing countries, the
curriculum is informed by imperialistic rather than practical
education.

• Hence the imperialists through colonialism have instituted

a system of education that is not based on creativity,
productivity and solution finding, but on paper works and
• Cultural indoctrination is another way the west
maintain their exploitative grip on Africa.

• Through the adoption of western cultural ideals,

new markets are established because of the
induced demand in Africa where the people now
want to appear like the people in the West.

Political dimension
• Politically, the west establishes cordial relations
with the ruling class in Africa.

• This is done so as to make it easier for these

leaders to be used as local agents of imperialism.
• By installing and supporting puppet leaders
(especially at independence), the imperialists
are able to exploit these nations with the
support of these petty bourgeois leaders who
embezzle national funds and bank them
overseas, thereby creating more capital in the
north.
Recap
• Meaning of Imperialism

• Motives for Imperialism

• Relationship between Imperialism and

underdevelopment
Assignment
• Define the term of Imperialism

• Give reasons why imperialistic relationship

exist among countries

• Explain the relationship between imperialism

and underdevelopment?
• Thank You