Abstract
It is against the backdrop of colonialism that The New Age of Empire is set, representing another addition to postcolonial scholarship which has in recent years increasingly entered public discourse. Kehinde Andrews, the first professor of Black Studies in the United Kingdom, analyzes the enduring legacy of colonialism and racism in shaping contemporary global politics, economics, and culture. Drawing on a range of historical and contemporary sources, he makes the case that Western societies continue to be built upon the foundations of racial inequality and colonial exploitation. In this provocative book, Andrews argues that we must undertake a radical rethinking of the global order to dismantle these oppressive structures and create a more just and equitable world.
The book begins with an examination of the historical roots of colonialism and racism, tracing their origins back to the European conquest of the Americas and the Enlightenment which, Andrews argues, was founded not on science but upon white supremacy. He argues that these systems of exploitation and violence laid the groundwork for the development of modern capitalism and the global economy, with the wealth of the West being built upon the suffering and oppression of colonized peoples or the “Rest.” The industrialization of the West was facilitated by slavery, according to Andrews, without which there would have been no industrial revolution at all and, thus, no modern West or its empires.
He goes on to explore the processes of decolonization and the emergence of new nation-states after World War II. Andrews emphasizes, however, that the end of formal colonial rule did not lead to a genuine dismantling of the structures of colonialism and racism, but rather to their persistence in different forms. He calls this “liberal imperialism,” which sees Western powers continue to exert economic and political control over former colonies through international institutions, trade, and development aid. For example, global institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank often impose policies and conditions on developing countries that prioritize the interests of Western powers, effectively shaping the economic and political landscape of these countries to serve their former colonizers. Trade relationships can also perpetuate neocolonial dynamics, with former colonies remaining economically dependent on the export of raw materials to Western countries. This dependency often results in unfavorable trade agreements and the extraction of resources from the Global South to the benefit of the Global North, reinforcing existing power imbalances. Likewise, Western countries may use development aid to influence the policies and priorities of recipient countries, often tying assistance to the adoption of neoliberal economic reforms or other measures that benefit the donor nations at the expense of the recipients. Andrews argues that neocolonialism sustains the unequal power relations established during the colonial era and maintains a global system in which the wealth and resources of the Global South continue to flow disproportionately to the Global North.
Contemporary racism and colonialism are, according to Andrews, global phenomena. He analyzes how they intersect with issues such as migration, climate change, and the “war on terror.” Colonialism has contributed to the destabilization of many regions, leading to conflict, poverty, and political instability. These conditions, in turn, drive migration as people seek safety and better opportunities elsewhere. However, Western countries often respond to this influx of migrants with xenophobia and racialized immigration policies, further perpetuating racist and colonialist attitudes. According to Andrews, the roots of climate change can also be traced back to the exploitation of resources and environmental degradation during the colonial era. Today, the Global North continues to disproportionately contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, while the Global South bears the brunt of the consequences, “punishing those in the Rest for the excesses of the West,” Andrews says. Moreover, he says that the “war on terror” has been shaped by colonialist and racist ideologies, leading to the demonization of people from predominantly Muslim countries. This campaign has often involved military intervention, surveillance, and other repressive measures that disproportionately impact communities of color, perpetuating colonial power structures and racial hierarchies under the guise of national security. These challenges cannot be addressed without confronting the underlying systems of oppression and exploitation that drive them.
This leads Andrews to make a radical call for revolution. However, “we have to accept that it will not come from those who benefit from Western imperialism,” he says. Instead, he argues that the only solution to the problem of racism is the unification of Africa and the African diaspora. This is the nexus around which the bulk of his academic work focuses.
Occasionally the book reads like a manifesto, and it can sometimes feel overly polemical, with Andrews’ passionate and forceful arguments sometimes coming across as one-sided or lacking nuance. While this style may be effective in rallying readers to the cause of antiracism and decolonization, it may also alienate those who are less familiar with the subject matter or who hold differing views. Likewise, there is a relative lack of engagement with counterarguments and alternative perspectives, and Andrews often takes his historical interpretations as truisms, rarely considering alternative explanations for the phenomena he discusses. In this respect, the book is historiographically lacking.
Nevertheless, the evidence brought to attention in The New Age of Empire is very legitimate, even if Andrews’ interpretations of it are sometimes ideologically biased. The book is very contemporary, and one might expect it to be referenced only more often as time goes on.
