http://www.inosr.net/inosr-arts-and-humanities/ Eneasato INOSR ARTS AND HUMANITIES 6(1):101-112, 2020 ©INOSR PUBLICATIONS International Network Organization for Scientific Research ISSN: 2705-1676 Foreign Aid as Mechanism for Perpetuation of Neo-colonialism and Dependency: An Interrogation of Issues and Way Forward for Developing Economies Eneasato Benjamin Onyekachi Department of Political Science Enugu State University of Science and Technology Nigeria Email: [email protected] ABSTRACT Relying on extant and contemporary documented evidences, this paper qualitatively explored foreign aid as mechanism for perpetuation of neo-colonialism and dependency: an interrogation of issues and way forward for developing economies. Cognizant of the assumption that 'there is no alternative' to capitalism as practiced in the United States of America and Western Europe; an assumption perceived by this paper as an intendment to hoodwink developing countries to underdevelopment and dependency. This paper attempted to show that except there is a fundamental reorientation in the conceptualization of capitalism–free market and democracy–the underdevelopment problem would only be further complicated with foreign aid as it will further undermine the ability of developing economies to rise above the preponderances of capitalist emasculation and thus perpetuating the dependency syndrome. Some argue and aptly too that, the financial institutions of the post-World War II era are themselves instruments of neo-colonialism; fostering control or domination by a few powerful capitalist countries over weaker ones (especially former colonies) by the use of foreign aid to vent economic pressure, political suppression, and cultural dominance. Aid agencies comprised of bilateral and multilateral agencies that provide grant financing and technical assistance for public and civil society partners in developing countries. Seemingly, aid programmes tend to focus on the poorest populations and emphasize investment in social sectors such as health, nutrition, education, the environment, governance and human rights but in the case of Africa it has apparently served as tool for neo-colonialism and dependency; this and the way forward formed the crux of this paper. Keywords: Foreign Aid, Mechanism, Perpetuation of Neo-colonialism, Interrogation of Issues, Way Forward, Developing Economies. INTRODUCTION A lot of questions and concerns call to How paradoxical the first became the last. mind. What actually is the problem with What are the internal and external forces Africa? Why has Africa refused to responsible for the current state of develop? Why have countries in other African development? What is the continents that shared similar colonial intersection between colonialism, foreign experiences with Africa risen above the aid, neo-colonialism, underdevelopment precipice of colonial entanglements in and dependency in Africa? The questions their development drive while African and issues are inexhaustible and indeed countries by the day remain immersed give cause for serious concern. and submerged in seemingly total In the search for possible answers, it dependence on foreign aids? Is Africa could be argued that there is an under some sort of curse, is it man made intersection between foreign aid, or self inflicted. Back then we were taught capitalism, neo-colonialism, and in school that Africa was the cradle of underdevelopment in a cyclical civilization. What has happened now? continuum. To understand this better, we 101 INOSR ARTS AND HUMANITIES 6(1):101-112, 2020 http://www.inosr.net/inosr-arts-and-humanities/ Eneasato INOSR ARTS AND HUMANITIES 6(1):101-112, 2020 take recourse to Kwame Nkrumah, who is Even though the former colonies believed to have coined the term "neo- were now formally independent, colonialism," which appeared in 1963 they were still rather dependent on preamble of the Organization of African the West for assistance in States Charter and was the title of his developing economic and political 1965 book Neo-Colonialism, the Last Stage structures. Thus, Western of Imperialism (1965). As a political corporations still had a significant scientist, Nkrumah theoretically amount of control over the new developed and extended, to the post–War states. Newly independent states 20th century, the socio-economic and borrowed money and requested for political arguments presented by Lenin in and accepted aids from the West in the pamphlet Imperialism, the Highest order to fund their own Stage of Capitalism (1917), about 19th- development, resulting in a new century imperialism as the logical system of debt and dependency extension of geopolitical power to meet syndrome. the financial investment needs of the Although decolonization ended political economy of capitalism. formal colonialism, unequal In further illustration, [1] revealed as economic relationships between follows; after WWII, decolonization ended the developed West and newly formal colonialism, but economic independent states had set up a inequality has given rise to system referred to as neocolonialism. In the above context the neocolonialism. following points are to be noted: Worried by the above scenario, this paper Colonization was motivated by set out to appraise the phenomenon of economics. European powers foreign aid as mechanism for sought to expand their markets perpetuation of neo-colonialism and and acquire raw materials dependency: an interrogation of issues overseas. and way forward for developing Decolonization occurred in economies. Fundamentally, this paper response to independence proposes way forward from the foreign movements in colonized territories aid doldrums. when European powers determined Statement of the Problem that the benefits of maintaining For some decades it has remained a colonies were not worth the costs. matter of global debate among scholars of Neocolonialism is the practice of diverse leanings especially in developing using capitalism, globalization, countries as to the motif behind foreign and cultural forces to control a aid. This debate is on the one side country in lieu of direct military or motivated by the concerns as to whether a political control. hitherto colonial grand inquisitor will Neocolonialism is motivated by sincerely give out aid to a country it once economics. Countries and exploited and expropriated without some corporations seek to achieve ulterior motives to satisfy. These favorable economic policies concerns are more exacerbated by the fact overseas and do so by pinning that foreign aid doesn‘t seem to be loans and aid to particular actions showing any significant progress to on the part of African states. alleviating poverty in developing The dependency principle refers to countries and Sub-Saharan Africa more the claim that post-colonial states particularly. Despite the rising volume of have no choice but to accept foreign aid made available to developing Western conditions for loans and countries, they still remain home to the aid because they desperately need largest portion on the world‘s ―bottom the money to support their own million‖ in extreme poverty. Since the domestic policies. 1950s traditional development economics has been dominated by the idea that large 102 INOSR ARTS AND HUMANITIES 6(1):101-112, 2020 http://www.inosr.net/inosr-arts-and-humanities/ Eneasato INOSR ARTS AND HUMANITIES 6(1):101-112, 2020 donations is the solution to the savings nations into the World Capitalist System gap in developing countries but evidence explains the reason(s) for their shows that large influxes of foreign aid underdeveloped status. The World can end up doing more harm than good. Capitalist System, it is argued, conditions The failure of foreign aid to meaningfully the economies of these nations and makes translate to growth and development in them subservient to and 'dependent' on developing countries is blamable on both the system. Thus, an understanding of the internal and external forces. On the one less developed nations' position cannot side there are governance issues and be clear without taking the 'external corruption while on another side there are factor' into consideration. It is this factor the forces of capitalism, neo-colonialism that explains the economic, political and and globalization which subjugate and social structures of the less developed submerge developing economies to nations. Hence, the effect of colonialism dependency syndrome. It is against the and neo-colonialism on the Third World above backdrop that this paper sought to Nations is given prominence. According appraise the phenomenon of foreign aid to [2], it is what brought about as mechanism for perpetuation of neo- underdevelopment. colonialism and dependency: an [3], using Baran's concept of economic interrogation of issues and way forward surplus, uses the concepts of 'metropolis– for developing economies. centre' and 'peripheral–satellite'. He Objectives of the Study shows how the 'chains of dependency' This paper sought to appraise the from the most advanced societies to the phenomenon of foreign aid as mechanism most rural parts of Latin America are for perpetuation of neo-colonialism and linked through the dependency: an interrogation of issues expropriation/appropriation of economic and way forward for developing surplus from the latter by the former. In economies. Consequently, the specifics this process, the social, political and are to; economic structures of developing 1. conceptually review the meaning countries were determined. This