Q&A: Neocolonialism with Priscillia Tuiet

By Augustine Wasef

Image Credit: Iban Lopez Luna/Petapixel

The issue of European colonialism in Africa has a periodic nature. Decades after initial independence, colonialism has shifted away from an explicit institution to become an informal web of trade deals and dubious military intervention. In order to better understand the situation Inflection Magazine interviewed Priscillia Tuiet, a UCLA graduate student who has questioned the concept of identity and French neocolonialism.

How does colonialism continue informally? For instance, do coercive loans by Western countries unintentionally replicate

colonial debt traps?

Colonialism can be defined as a system in which one country exerts political, economic, and cultural domination over another territory, often through settlement, resource extraction, and the suppression of local sovereignty. While formal empires have largely disappeared, many thinkers and scholars such as Frantz Fanon, Kwame Nkrumah, and Jean-Paul Sartre argue that colonialism never truly ended but rather transformed into what they called “neocolonialism” or “informal colonialism.” According to this view, domination today rarely takes the form of direct territorial control; instead, it operates through economic dependency, cultural hegemony, and international power asymmetries.

I would like to highlight three contemporary examples that illustrate the economic, cultural, and political power that former empires may still exercise over former colonies.

The first example concerns the territorial status of certain regions. Although territories such as Puerto Rico and New Caledonia are no longer legally under the colonial rule of the United States and France, but are instead American and French territories, they are nevertheless subject to different treatment from that of the mainland territories. Puerto Rico, an American territory, and New Caledonia, a French territory, remain tied to larger powers without enjoying full political autonomy. In both cases, local populations have raised concerns about economic exploitation and limited self-determination. Resource extraction and strategic positioning often benefit the “metropole” more than local communities, which may experience limited access to healthcare, high unemployment, and underdeveloped infrastructure. These conditions have led to recurring tensions and referendums on independence. In the case of New Caledonia, protests in early 2025 were met with a violent repression by the French government, further intensifying debates about sovereignty.

The second example is the role of culture and language in maintaining an imbalanced power structure and vision of the world. Organizations such as the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie and the Commonwealth of Nations promote cooperation between former colonies and colonial powers. While it can be seen as partnerships, scholars such as the historian Khadim Ndiaye argue that they can reinforce cultural hierarchies. Education systems that prioritize French or English at the expense of local languages during the colonization, are still contributing to the erosion of identities even now by promoting French as the language for learning, administrative inquiry and political discussions; for instance, the gradual disappearance of Creole languages in French Caribbean islands is the consequence of this promotion and construction of French as the only legitimate language to use.

The third example concerns the role of international institutions in maintaining political pressure on former colonies. Global governance structures often reflect the interests of powerful Western states. The case of Venezuela, particularly during periods of tension involving Donald Trump, illustrates how sanctions and diplomatic recognition can function as tools of political leverage. While such measures are often justified as promoting democracy or stability, they can also reproduce unequal power dynamics reminiscent of colonial hierarchies where the rules of that are supposed to be followed by everyone does not apply for powerful Western nations.

Regarding coercive loans, debt dependency can indeed mirror colonial economic structures. When countries become structurally dependent on external creditors, their policy autonomy diminishes. Even if such arrangements are not intentionally designed as “debt traps,” the outcome can resemble older patterns of control through financial dependency.In this sense, colonialism did not disappear; it transformed. Instead of flags and governors, we now see contracts, institutions, military agreements, and economic conditionalities.

 Lachmann, R. (1991). The Encyclopedic Dictionary of Sociology, The Dushkin Publishing Group, Inc, p. 51

 Ndiaye, K. (2021). L'Empire qui ne veut pas mourir : Une histoire de la Françafrique (p. 121-135). Le Seuil. 

Is the French government treating Francophone countries less as allies and more as tools through overseas military bases?

Historically, French overseas military bases were established for strategic reasons: protecting trade routes, securing geopolitical influence, and maintaining global power status. For example, the space center in Kourou, even though it is not a military base stricto sensu the Centre spatial guyanais, is a key strategic military and geoplotical asset for France and Europe, enabling independent access to space. Its location near the equator makes launches more efficient. From Paris’ perspective, such territories are not merely symbolic vestiges of empire, but critical strategic infrastructures.

However, the presence of military bases in former colonies raises complex questions. While these territories help ensure that France remains a global military actor, this situation echoes broader concerns associated with neocolonialism: who ultimately benefits from these arrangements?

A useful comparison can be made with the moment when Donald Trump floated the idea of acquiring Greenland. The proposal was widely criticized because it appeared to treat territory primarily as a strategic asset rather than as a homeland with its own population and political will. This illustrates how major powers often view certain regions first through geopolitical lenses.

For local populations, overseas bases can bring economic investment, infrastructure, and employment. Yet they may also reinforce dependency, distort local economies, and limit political autonomy. The central question is whether these territories are equal partners in decision-making or primarily strategic extensions of French power.To answer this, we must ask: do these arrangements genuinely prioritize mutual benefit and sovereignty?

To what extent can France, and by extension European governments, work with former colonies without relapsing into colonialism?

If genuine partnership is the goal, the starting point must be full political, economic, and cultural autonomy for former colonies. This requires stepping away from paternalistic policies and accepting that former colonies may make decisions that do not align with European economic or strategic interests.

True cooperation requires respect for political sovereignty without interference, economic relationships that are mutually negotiated rather than structurally dependent, and cultural recognition that does not place European norms above local identities. However, such a shift would come at a cost. Many former colonies possess strategic military positions and valuable natural resources such as rare minerals, energy reserves, and agricultural commodities that are crucial in today’s global economy. Renouncing privileged access would mean that Europe must accept a more equal, and potentially less advantageous, position.

The challenge is that postcolonial relationships often operate within global systems originally structured during colonial times. To avoid reproducing colonial patterns, European governments would need to move away from influence and control toward reciprocity and accountability. Only when autonomy is genuinely respected can partnership be discussed on equal footing. Otherwise, even well-intentioned cooperation risks reproducing older hierarchies under new names.