Liberalism, Colonialism and Liberal Imperialism

Abstract

One of the most obvious features of the post-Cold War world was that western states and western dominated international organizations pursued a more expansionist and interventionist set of foreign policies and practices. In attempting to explain as well as assess this period, scholars from across the theoretical and political spectrum have identified “liberalism” or “liberal” ideas, arguments and concepts, as playing a crucial role in motivating these practices as well as shaping their contents. In turn this has led to increased attention to the links between liberalism, colonialism, and liberal imperialism. This article explores these connections by focusing on the trajectory of a particular form of Nineteenth Century colonial liberal argument—what will be called here “developmental liberalism”—articulated most famously by John Stuart Mill. The objective here is to use Mill’s arguments to raise a number of vitally important questions about the discourses and practices of some modern forms of liberal imperialism. In particular it stresses Mill’s arguments against immanence and institutional universalism, and his understanding of the kind of agency necessary for achievement of progress in colonial settings.