When
Title: The Strategic Calculus of Colonialism
Abstract: I will present a model to study the effects of classical (“saltwater”) colonialism. The model consists of a two-level game, capturing the strategic interaction between a colonizing power and a colonized dependency and between different colonial powers vying for geopolitical domination. Outcomes at one level of the game affect the other, which allows for dynamic modelling of the complex phenomenon of colonialism. An important upshot of this approach is that colonization can be seriously damaging to the colonized, independent of the intentions of the colonizer, because of the strategic nature of the interaction. In other words, a colonizer need not be “evil” for a seriously damaging dependency relationship to emerge. We also see why colonialism sometimes did not pay for the colonizer: they could spend vast sums in building up infrastructure in the colonies (e.g., to make them economically efficient) and in subduing the local population and yet not gain adequately in the strategic interaction with other colonial powers. Thus, exploitation of the colonies is consistent with a losing play for the colonizer.
The model can be adapted to study contemporary dependency relationships like neocolonialism, internal colonialism, and imperialism. Thus, an analytical study of classical colonialism reveals important insights about injustices prevalent in our world.
I will situate this model in the context of my larger, book-length project, which develops the first systematic account of colonialism in analytic philosophy and argues that adopting a “postcolonial” lens greatly enhances our understanding of a range of philosophical concerns, such as state legitimacy and the ethics of international intervention.
As usual, we'll meet in the Maloney Seminar Room, Social Science Building 224, 3-5p. Those unable to attend in person can spectate virtually via this Zoom link