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In the Name of Neo-colonialism: A comparative case study on the impact of foreign interference on state development in Sub-Saharan Africa

Mudahemuka, Esther LU and Drevnor, Emma LU (2026) FKVK02 20261
Department of Political Science
Abstract (Swedish)
The attempt to give Africa the economic growth they were denied during colonialism seems to be a Western project, to alleviate them of the blame of the destruction they themselves created. Yet many of the ways used today can be argued to maintain structures created by imperialist powers to be in control, and thus today stay in control. The purpose of this thesis is to explore the relationship between economic development and foreign interference, with focus on the concept of neo-colonialism. By adding a postcolonial lens to dependency theory and resource curse theory, this thesis aims to answer the research question: How does foreign interference impact state development in Sub-Saharan Africa? The method is a comparative case study, where... (More)
The attempt to give Africa the economic growth they were denied during colonialism seems to be a Western project, to alleviate them of the blame of the destruction they themselves created. Yet many of the ways used today can be argued to maintain structures created by imperialist powers to be in control, and thus today stay in control. The purpose of this thesis is to explore the relationship between economic development and foreign interference, with focus on the concept of neo-colonialism. By adding a postcolonial lens to dependency theory and resource curse theory, this thesis aims to answer the research question: How does foreign interference impact state development in Sub-Saharan Africa? The method is a comparative case study, where a most similar system design was used for the case selection, being Botswana and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the crucial difference is that Botswana is a higher income country than the DRC. Our assumption is that this difference is due to foreign interference, which will be analyzed through three forms: aid, trade and mining. The result showed differences between the countries, in all three of these aspects, which can be explained with foreign interference. Therefore leading to the conclusion that foreign interference does indeed affect economic development through economic channels. This aligns with Kwame Nkrumah's argument that neo-colonialism is a passive form of colonialism that is active through, among other, economic interference and dependence created by more powerful states. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Mudahemuka, Esther LU and Drevnor, Emma LU
supervisor
organization
course
FKVK02 20261
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Keywords: Neo-colonialism, Dependency, Foreign interference, Resource extraction, Aid, Trade, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo
language
English
id
9229055
date added to LUP
2026-06-16 15:14:34
date last changed
2026-06-16 15:14:34
@misc{9229055,
  abstract     = {{The attempt to give Africa the economic growth they were denied during colonialism seems to be a Western project, to alleviate them of the blame of the destruction they themselves created. Yet many of the ways used today can be argued to maintain structures created by imperialist powers to be in control, and thus today stay in control. The purpose of this thesis is to explore the relationship between economic development and foreign interference, with focus on the concept of neo-colonialism. By adding a postcolonial lens to dependency theory and resource curse theory, this thesis aims to answer the research question: How does foreign interference impact state development in Sub-Saharan Africa? The method is a comparative case study, where a most similar system design was used for the case selection, being Botswana and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the crucial difference is that Botswana is a higher income country than the DRC. Our assumption is that this difference is due to foreign interference, which will be analyzed through three forms: aid, trade and mining. The result showed differences between the countries, in all three of these aspects, which can be explained with foreign interference. Therefore leading to the conclusion that foreign interference does indeed affect economic development through economic channels. This aligns with Kwame Nkrumah's argument that neo-colonialism is a passive form of colonialism that is active through, among other, economic interference and dependence created by more powerful states.}},
  author       = {{Mudahemuka, Esther and Drevnor, Emma}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{In the Name of Neo-colonialism: A comparative case study on the impact of foreign interference on state development in Sub-Saharan Africa}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}