- Sputnik Africa, 1920
AfroVerdict
As the multipolar world steadily gains ground, Africa's role in it is growing side by side. Welcome to AfroVerdict where you hear the voices of Africa’s youth, experts and prominent figures expressing their take on issues from around the world and on the continent.

West in 'Deep Denialism' Over Colonial Crimes: Expert

West in 'Deep Denialism' Over Colonial Crimes: Expert
Subscribe
Today, Russia's President Vladimir Putin made a speech at the Eastern Economic Forum, in which he raised some interesting facts in regards to the relationship between Western countries and African states. Your AfroVerdict host sits down with a political scientist to analyse his speech and understand the colonial past in Africa's present.
The West is in a "certain form of deep denialism", when it comes to acknowledging the full scale of crimes committed during the colonial era, according to Ian Liebenberg, political scientist and professor at the University of Namibia and Stellenbosch University in South Africa.
" You see a sort of denialism, a sort of unwillingness to engage in past discussions, very akin to Germany discussing the Holocaust in Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler. Yeah, it was a big mistake, but we always qualify our admission of guilt," Prof. Liebenberg says.
During his speech at the EEF, Russia's President Putin mentioned that Western policy towards African states resembles neocolonialism. Professor Liebenberg explains that these ideas are nothing new, as they "echo what has been written by economists about independence theories and a lot about economic exploitation post-colonialism in African states", in other words, "neocolonialism".

"The way the African countries, and to some extent Latin American countries, were pushed into a situation where the West prescribed their economic models on them via the Washington Consensus...that's certainly a representer of colonialism of a special type or neocolonialism. And these are not new debates," he explains.

To hear what else the professor had to say, check out the entire episode of the AfroVerdict podcast, brought to you by Sputnik Africa.
In addition to the website, you can also catch our episodes on Telegram.
You can also listen to our podcast on Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, Pocket Casts, Deezer, Podcast Addict and Afripods.
Check out all the episodes of AfroVerdict.
Newsfeed
0