What is imperialism?

Before the NATO summit to be held in our country, a heated debate about NATO is coming to the fore. Beyond what NATO is and what it is not, its future is also being discussed. After US President Trump insulted NATO member countries that he could not convince regarding attacks on Iran, and then said that the US could withdraw from NATO, the debates on imperialism and NATO are extending to another dimension. Even if the US President criticizes NATO, which is the attack and occupation apparatus of US imperialism, it should not be forgotten that NATO is a very effective, very functional, and very useful apparatus for the US. US President Trump may leave the White House, but the US will not leave NATO. 

It is useful to grasp the subject of imperialism, as with every subject, from an economic-political and ideological perspective. Because without conceptual consciousness, there is no ideological clarity, nor political consistency. 

Moreover, imperialism is not just any concept, a word that can be used casually or just like that. In addition to its academic meaning regarding political economy, it also has political and ideological meanings. It is a concept used to describe a level, scale, capacity, and power related to production, property, and distribution relations within a country, and the need for markets, raw materials, and cheap labor outside its borders, for a state that has reached the most advanced and mature stage of capitalism. It is used to express the economic, political, legal, military, and cultural dominance, influence, and pressure of a state with an imperialist character over another state, another nation, or another people, both directly and indirectly. In its shortest and simplest definition, imperialism is the construction, use, and expansion of a state's or nation's influence, power, effect, and control over another state or nation. 

WHO WROTE THE FIRST WORKS ON IMPERIALISM?

The word imperialism is of Latin origin and is based on the word imperium. Imperare means to rule, to govern, to command, to order. There is a very important and voluminous body of literature written on imperialism in the world and in our country. Very comprehensive books and articles have been penned on the subject, and the issue has been examined in all its aspects. The most notable works on this subject were written by names such as John Hobson, Rudolph Hilferding, Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov Lenin, and Nikolai Bukharin, as well as Rosa Luxemburg, Thorstein Bunde Veblen, and Joseph Alois Schumpeter.

The concept of imperialism was widely used in England in the 1870s, especially to describe the colonial policies of Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. It should be noted that under the conditions of that period, the concepts of imperialism and colonialism were used interchangeably. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, however, in parallel with the changing character of colonialism, it was used to draw attention to influence, economic and political power, and the different methods of exploitation that came with them, instead of colonialism based on brute force and coercion. In this context, social and cultural dimensions were also taken into account. This is because more complex forms of exploitation and relations of exploitation emerged. The need arose to distinguish imperialism from classical, coercion-based, crude colonialism. The investment opportunities, capital accumulation, and ability to control trade routes of the imperialist power also came to the fore. During this period, differences of opinion also emerged among thinkers who pondered on imperialism. 

The beginning of analyses and interpretations regarding imperialism dates back to the end of the 19th century. The concept of imperialism is primarily used to explain world politics, economic developments, international relations, changing global balances, sharp diplomatic competition, disagreements between great powers, conflicts, and wars. An imperialist state can establish this domination through coercion, by resorting to violence, by using brute force, and with armed forces, as well as through political and economic pressures. It often uses all of these methods and tools at once. It resorts to these tools and methods according to the power it possesses, the capacity of the interlocutor, and the conditions of the period. 

DIFFERENT INTERPRETATIONS OF IMPERIALISM

Although approaches that conceive of imperialism as the most advanced stage of capitalism prevail, there are also approaches that start imperialism from the pre-capitalist period and extend it to the period before the Industrial Revolution. According to this approach, the first period of imperialism is the period related to the expansion of empires, which lasted until the 16th century. The second phase of imperialism began with the geographical discoveries and lasted until the 19th century, and this period is also called "old imperialism." The third stage of imperialism, also called "new imperialism," began in the 1880s. During this period, interest in colonies revived, and Asia and Africa were partitioned. Schumpeter also argued that there is no direct relationship between imperialism and capitalism, and that imperialism is a phenomenon that existed even before capitalism. 

It should be noted that countries that came to the fore in the race to acquire colonies in history at certain times have not always been able to maintain these positions. Italy, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and Japan are such countries. They have lagged behind England and France in this regard. 

Imperialism, beyond the methods and tools peculiar to classical colonialism, far beyond occupation and brute force, uses systematic, multi-faceted, organized, and comprehensive methods and tools of exploitation, and is also directly related to the level of capitalist development of the exploiting state. In addition to military power, it requires possessing many elements ranging from economics to politics, from law to culture, and from management skills to the ability to organize and institutionalize. In this context, imperialism is not related to the religious-agricultural empires peculiar to feudalism, but to the Industrial Revolution, capitalism, and the level of organizational and capitalist development related to contemporary state structures. It is especially related to center-periphery relations, occupying other countries, seizing their resources, looting, and expansionism. What distinguishes imperialist exploitation from the more primitive, cruder exploitation that preceded it is that it establishes a more comprehensive, more organized, more intense, more systematic, and more holistic order of exploitation and mechanism of exploitation. In the imperialist stage, the colonization carried out through geographical discoveries and overseas conquests, and the exploitation carried out by commercial capitalism and mercantilism between the 16th and 18th centuries, were far surpassed, and more advanced methods of exploitation were used. Therefore, imperialism and classical colonialism are not the same. 

COMPETITION BETWEEN IMPERIALIST POWERS IS ESSENTIAL

Contradiction and competition between imperialist centers are inevitable. Indeed, this situation, which became quite evident starting from the late 19th century, manifested itself with the two great world wars in the 20th century, the two great wars of partition (World War I between 1914–1918 and World War II between 1939–1945). Viewed from this perspective, it is clear that being colonialist and expansionist is a necessary condition for being an imperialist power, but not a sufficient one. 

When viewed within the historical process, while classical colonialism and expansionism came to the fore before capitalism, imperialism came to the fore after the transition to the capitalist period as the most advanced stage of capitalism. While feudalism, empire, and colonialism are referred to as periods related to pre-capitalism, the most advanced stage of capitalism, which developed rapidly after the Industrial Revolution, has been called imperialism. In the imperialist stage, exploitation, influence, and control over other states, nations, and peoples have become more systematic, organized, comprehensive, and multi-faceted. The resources, wealth, labor, and domestic markets of those nations, those countries, and those peoples have been seized directly and indirectly through very different ways, methods, and tools. 

There is also a difference between imperialism and hegemony. A state trying to build hegemony tries to obtain the consent of the country or society it targets and prioritizes soft power elements. Imperialism does not try to obtain consent. It relies on hard power elements. Of course, a state trying to build hegemony also has classical power elements and hard power elements in addition to soft power elements, such as political power, economic power, and military power. Every powerful state knows that without these, soft power will not work, and that soft power not backed by these will not be effective. 

In short, imperialism, as embodied in the example of the US today, is a form of banditry organized as a state. It is the greatest scourge facing humanity with its economic, political, and military aspects. NATO is also one of the most effective trumps in the hands of US imperialism.