Är klassisk imperialism fortfarande relevant? : En komparativ fallstudie av Marocko-Västsahara och Kina-Tibet

Imperialism has for a long time been an important concept in international relations. The literature identifies many different types of imperialism. After the great de-colonization scientists stopped discussing “classic” imperialism, i.e. using physical strength in the form of conquest and occupation to subdue weaker states. Instead focus has for decades been on a new form of imperialism using economic measures to suppress weaker states; this is called neo-imperialism. Galtung, one of the leading scholars of imperialism, is among the scholars who have dismissed classic imperialism to be a thing of the past. This study asks whether classical imperialism can explain the situation in Morocco-Western Sahara and China-Tibet. Implementing the theories of classic imperialism and identifying several typical indicators of its existence clearly show the presence of classic imperialism in the case studies of China’s occupation of Tibet and the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara. Thus, the results tell us that these theories are still of relevance in explaining the relationship between a stronger state and a weaker neighbouring state