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Book part
Publication date: 20 December 2017

Resistance and Reforms: The Role of Subaltern Agency in Colonial State Development

Zophia Edwards

In the periods, following the First and Second World Wars, colonial states across the British empire underwent waves of reforms that were geared toward improving human…

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Abstract

In the periods, following the First and Second World Wars, colonial states across the British empire underwent waves of reforms that were geared toward improving human well-being, from enhancing social conditions, such as health and education, to expanding opportunities for economic and political engagement. The literature on the colonial state typically traces these state-building efforts to the agency of European colonial officials. However, evidence from a historical analysis of Trinidad and Tobago reveals a different agent driving state reform: the colonized. A local labor movement during colonialism forced the colonial state to construct a number of state agencies to ameliorate the economic, political, and social conditions in the colony, thereby resulting in an increase in state capacity. This study, therefore, provides critical intervention into the colonial state literature by showing that the agency of the colonized, as opposed to just the colonizers, is key to state-building, and specifying the mechanisms by which the subaltern constrained colonial officials and forced them to enact policies that improved colonial state capacity.

Details

Rethinking the Colonial State
Type: Book
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/S0198-871920170000033008
ISBN: 978-1-78714-655-6

Keywords

  • Colonialism
  • state capacity
  • labor
  • subaltern

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Article
Publication date: 1 January 2006

Mediating between colonizer and colonized in the American empire: Accounting for government moneys in the Philippines

Maria Cadiz Dyball, Wai Fong Chua and Chris Poullaos

The aim of the paper is to argue that accounting practices in colonial systems of government can help to construct the identity and “competency” of colonised communities.

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Abstract

Purpose

The aim of the paper is to argue that accounting practices in colonial systems of government can help to construct the identity and “competency” of colonised communities.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach was a historical analysis of the colonial political and economic policies of the USA in the Philippines from 1898 to 1924. The role of accounting practices was demonstrated by focusing on the case of the Philippine National Bank from 1916 to 1924. The bank was created by a wholly‐Filipino Legislature when Americans were actively promoting “home rule” by the Filipinos as a prelude to independence. Using Weber's theoretical distinction between modern and traditional societies, primary documents on the bank and secondary references of the policies of the USA during the period of study were examined.

Findings

It was found that the Americans used controls over government moneys to express their modernity, efficiency and goodness, while the Filipinos resisted them to perpetuate traditional social arrangements in the context of a “modern” Philippine state. The controls “failed” under the stress of such tensions. The Americans concluded that the Filipinos were unable to manage government moneys “properly”, thus denying them their independence.

Research limitations/implications

Weber's theorization of traditional and modern societies should be applied to understand interactions between coloniser and colonised in cases other than the Philippines.

Originality/value

This paper will be valuable to academics and policy makers because it shows that accounting need not be an active agent by colonisers/administrators to appropriate spoils from its colony.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 19 no. 1
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/09513570610651948
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

  • Accounting
  • Philippines
  • United States of America

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Article
Publication date: 14 December 2020

The colonial exports pattern, institutions and current economic performance

Tania El Kallab and Cristina Terra

This paper explores the role of colonial heritage on long-term economic development from a resource-curse perspective. The authors investigate the impact of colonial…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper explores the role of colonial heritage on long-term economic development from a resource-curse perspective. The authors investigate the impact of colonial exports on long-term economic development through two channels: (1) a direct impact of the economic dependency on natural resources and (2) an indirect impact via its effect on colonial institutions, which persisted over time and influenced current economic development.

Design/methodology/approach

To address this issue, the authors use an original data set on French bilateral trade from 1880 to 1912. The authors use partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) in the empirical analysis, so that the authors are able to construct latent variables (LVs) for variables that are not directly observable, such as the quality of institutions.

Findings

The authors find that exports of primary goods to France had a negative impact on colonial institutions and that for French colonies, this impact was driven by minerals exports. Despite its impact on colonial institutions, exports of French colonies had no significant indirect impact on their current institutions. The authors find no significant direct impact of colonial trade on current development for French colonies. Finally, colonial exports of manufactured products had no significant impact on colonial institutions among French colonies and a positive impact among non-French ones.

Research limitations/implications

Research implications regarding the findings of this paper are, namely, that the relative poor performance within French colonies today cannot be attributed to the extraction of raw materials a century ago. However, human capital and institutional development, instead of exports, are more relatively important for long-term growth. Some limitations in trying to determine the simultaneous relationship among colonial trade, institutions and economic performance are the relation between colonial trade and the extent of extraction from the colonizer, which is hard to quantify, as well as its precise mechanism.

Practical implications

Since the initial institutions set in those former colonies presented a strong persistence in the long run, their governments should focus now on building sound and inclusive political and economic institutions, as well as on investing in human capital in order to foster long-term growth. Once a comprehensive set of institutional and human resources are put in place, the quality and quantity of exports might create a positive spillover on the short-run growth.

Social implications

One social implication that can be retrieved from this study is the ever-lasting effect of both human capital investment and introduction of inclusive political and economic institutions on the long-run impact of growth.

Originality/value

The paper uses an original primary data set from archival sources to explore the role of colonial heritage on long-term economic development from a resource-curse perspective. It applies a relatively new model partial least squares path modeling (PLS-PM) that allows the construction of LVs for variables that are not directly observable, as well as channeling the impact on growth through both direct and indirect channels. Finally, it allows for the simultaneous multigroup analysis across different colonial groups.

Details

Journal of Economic Studies, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JES-06-2020-0266
ISSN: 0144-3585

Keywords

  • Colonial trade
  • Institutions
  • Resources curse
  • Economic development
  • N50
  • N53
  • N70
  • O13
  • P48

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Article
Publication date: 4 November 2019

Reclaiming history: dehumanization and the failure of decolonization

David Boucher

The purpose of this paper is to show, with reference to the writings of important decolonization theorists and liberationists, how Nazism in Europe and the establishment…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to show, with reference to the writings of important decolonization theorists and liberationists, how Nazism in Europe and the establishment of the UN had a significant impetus in awakening the sense of injustice in colonised peoples in Africa and the Lesser Antilles. Colonized peoples were denied human rights through a process of dehumanization, which involved seizing “native” histories and representing them as backward, depraved and savage, awaiting the arrival of European civilization. Marxism, further supported this narrative by denying that “primitive” peoples had histories, and being unable to account for race and racism because of its emphasis on class. Colonization evolved, not into decolonization, but neo-colonialism because of the complicity of “native” bourgeois elites.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology combines historical narrative with theoretical insight from the point of view of the colonised, such as Fanon, Cabral, Mimmi, Ceasare, Nkrumah, etc. It is hermeneutic in its methodology.

Findings

Peoples of the Lesser Antilles and Africans were dehumanized; denied human rights; and dehistoricized. Prominent liberation theorists develop these themes and reject elements of Marxism in order to reflect the unique experiences of the colonised. Colonization gets under the skin of the colonised and persists in contemporary societies. Colonization was replaced by neo-colonialism, not decolonization.

Research limitations/implications

The implications are to bring to the fore the importance of colonialism in relation to western practises of anti-Fascism and the promotion of human rights, while perpetrating Fascist modes of behaviour and denying human rights in colonised countries. Far from being simply an historical phenomenon the insidious implications persist.

Social implications

The demonstration of how deep the roots of colonialism go, and how difficult the task of decolonization has become as a consequence of systematic western “penetration”.

Originality/value

It looks at colonialism and its widespread injustices through the activists who suffered at the hands of a system of rule based exploitation and dehumanization effected not only by seizing their land, but also their history language and culture, ensuring that decolonization became transformed into neo-colonialism.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 46 no. 11
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-03-2019-0151
ISSN: 0306-8293

Keywords

  • Imperialism
  • Colonialism
  • Human rights
  • Fanon
  • Cabral

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Article
Publication date: 4 July 2016

Capturing postcoloniality in action: RAND, rationality, and subaltern encounters during the “Vietnam War”

Isabella Krysa, Kien T. Le, Jean Helms Mills and Albert J. Mills

Drawing on a series of RAND interviews with Vietnamese prisoners during the Vietnam War, the paper aims to analyze the role of colonizer–colonized in the production of…

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Abstract

Purpose

Drawing on a series of RAND interviews with Vietnamese prisoners during the Vietnam War, the paper aims to analyze the role of colonizer–colonized in the production of postcolonial representations (postcoloniality) and the role of the Western corporation in the processes of postcoloniality.

Design/methodology/approach

Selected RAND interviews are analyzed using a postcolonial lens and explored through the method of critical hermeneutics.

Findings

The analysis supports the contention that Western othering of Third World people is neither completely successful nor one-sided. It is argued that while the Western corporation is an important site for understanding hybridity and postcoloniality, analysis needs to go beyond focusing on the symbolic and the textual to take account of the material conditions in which interactions between colonizer–colonized occur. Finally, there is support for further study of the socio-political character of methods of research in the study of international business.

Research limitations/implications

The case suggests further study of colonizer–colonized interactions outside of the context of an on-going war, which may have heightened some forms of resistance and voice.

Social implications

The paper draws attention to the continuing problem of Western othering of formerly colonized people through military and commercial engagements that are framed by neo-colonial viewpoints embedded in theories of globalization and research methods.

Originality/value

The paper provides rare glimpses into interactions between colonizing and colonized people, and also the under-research study of the role of the Western corporation in the production of postcoloniality.

Details

critical perspectives on international business, vol. 12 no. 3
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/cpoib-05-2015-0025
ISSN: 1742-2043

Keywords

  • Organizations
  • Colonialism
  • Critical management
  • Post-colonialism

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Article
Publication date: 16 September 2019

Postcolonial hybridity, diaspora and accountancy: Evidence from Sierra Leonean chartered and aspiring accountants

Gabriel Bamie Kaifala, Sonja Gallhofer, Margaret Milner and Catriona Paisey

The purpose of this paper is to explore perceptions and lived experiences of Sierra Leonean chartered and aspiring accountants, vis-à-vis their professional identity with…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore perceptions and lived experiences of Sierra Leonean chartered and aspiring accountants, vis-à-vis their professional identity with a particular focus on two elements of postcolonial theory, hybridity and diaspora.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative methodological framework was employed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 participants about their perceptions of their professional identity and their professional experiences both within and outside Sierra Leone.

Findings

The current professionalisation process is conceptualised as a postcolonial third space where hybrid professional accountants are constructed. Professional hybridity blurs the local/global praxis being positioned as both local and global accountants. Participants experience difficulty “fitting into” the local accountancy context as a consequence of their hybridisation. As such, a diaspora effect is induced which often culminates in emigration to advanced countries. The paper concludes that although the current model engenders emancipatory social movements for individuals through hybridity and diaspora, it is nonetheless counterproductive for Sierra Leone’s economic development and the local profession in particular.

Research limitations/implications

This study has significant implications for understanding how the intervention of global professional bodies in developing countries shapes the professionalisation process as well as perceptions and lived experiences of chartered and aspiring accountants in these countries.

Originality/value

While extant literature implicates the legacies of colonialism/imperialism on the institutional development of accountancy (represented by recognised professional bodies), this paper employs the critical lens of postcolonial theory to conceptualise the lived experiences of individuals who are directly impacted by such institutional arrangements.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 32 no. 7
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-03-2016-2493
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

  • Diaspora
  • Sierra Leone
  • Hybridity
  • Accounting professionalization
  • Postcolonial theory

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Article
Publication date: 2 September 2014

Psy-science and the colonial relationship in the mental health field

W.J. Penson

The purpose of this paper is to critically discuss how the psy-sciences have been, and continue to be, typified by some critics, as colonizers and are credited with…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to critically discuss how the psy-sciences have been, and continue to be, typified by some critics, as colonizers and are credited with Imperialistic motivations. However, rarely are these critiques developed beyond a pejorative characterisation.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper reviews the criticisms of psychiatry as colonial and outlines the tensions in taking different frames of reference in the mental health field, before going on to suggest theoretical and research perspectives arising from postcolonial theory that might advance these critical positions more coherently and the implications of doing so.

Findings

This study suggests an engagement with humanities-based methods and fields such as postcolonial scholarship.

Social implications

This argument is timely, especially given recent controversies over the publication of DSM5, the scaling up agenda for mental health in the Global South and increased attention to the agenda of Big Pharma.

Originality/value

Postcolonial intersections with psy-science remains a relatively undeveloped area in the critical literature.

Details

Mental Health Review Journal, vol. 19 no. 3
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/MHRJ-03-2014-0006
ISSN: 1361-9322

Keywords

  • Mental health
  • Postcolonial
  • Humanities
  • Psychiatry
  • Colonizer
  • Psy-science

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Article
Publication date: 1 February 2004

Cricket and the capital market: Winning does not matter but losing hurts

R. Srinivasan

There is increasing evidence of the inadequacy of ‘rational’ explanations of asset pricing. It has been established empirically that mood, induced by such natural…

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Abstract

There is increasing evidence of the inadequacy of ‘rational’ explanations of asset pricing. It has been established empirically that mood, induced by such natural phenomena as lunar phases or sunshine, affects asset prices. This paper provides evidence from one‐day cricket international (ODI) matches played by India that there is a significant negative impact on the daily stock market returns when the national team loses. Empirically, losing in India matters somewhat more than losing outside. The mood induced by losing a match appears conditioned by history, in that losing to nations that represent the ‘colonizers’ matters but losing to nations that share India's experience of being ‘colonized’ does not.

Details

Asian Review of Accounting, vol. 12 no. 2
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/eb060779
ISSN: 1321-7348

Keywords

  • behavioural finance
  • capital markets
  • cricket
  • market efficiency
  • mood

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Article
Publication date: 6 November 2020

International entrepreneurial orientation amidst post-colonial upheaval: entrepreneurs during the Hong Kong Umbrella Revolution

Farzad Haider Alvi

This paper examines the internationalization response of entrepreneurs in Hong Kong to the institutional upheaval of the Umbrella Revolution (UR), analyzed through the…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper examines the internationalization response of entrepreneurs in Hong Kong to the institutional upheaval of the Umbrella Revolution (UR), analyzed through the lens of post-colonial theory.

Design/methodology/approach

Inductive methods are applied to interview data on dimensions of ethnic background (local Chinese, regional Chinese and British expatriates) and geographical scope of business (Hong Kong only or global). The analysis consists of first-order concepts, second-order themes and aggregate dimensions which link the results to post-colonial theory and international entrepreneurial orientation (IEO).

Findings

Amongst informants with a high international entrepreneurial orientation (IEO), strategy response to upheaval is highly influenced by ethnic background and geographical flexibility in a post-colonial context. Applying Bhabhaian post-colonial theory, the Hong Kong UR is found to be a liminal space, where internationalization strategy in response to upheaval belies subconscious, ethics-laden constructions of post-colonial identity, manifesting in counterintuitive ways.

Originality/value

This paper addresses the paucity of studies on liminality and entrepreneurship and on how IEO responds to acute uncertainty in the business environment. Further, IEO is found to be an individual rather than a firm-level construct. Finally, a post-colonial theory is considered in a larger context of liminality and how the transitional self of entrepreneurs comes to terms with institutional upheaval.

Details

critical perspectives on international business, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/cpoib-03-2020-0016
ISSN: 1742-2043

Keywords

  • Post-colonialism
  • Hong Kong Umbrella Revolution
  • International entrepreneurial orientation
  • Ethnicity
  • Institutional upheaval
  • Liminality

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Book part
Publication date: 29 November 2012

Between Neighbours’ Heat and Colonial Ties’ Comfort: Does Distance Really Matter?

Miguel Torres, Francisco Figueira de Lemos and Penelope Fidas

This paper examines the role of firm capabilities, psychic distance and choice of country risk variables in the entry mode decision between developed and emerging…

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Abstract

This paper examines the role of firm capabilities, psychic distance and choice of country risk variables in the entry mode decision between developed and emerging countries. The conceptual model extends previous studies built on gravity models by considering the potential effect of colonial ties on the entry mode. The empirical test applies an ordered logit model on a survey sample of 462 Portuguese firms. A subsample of 143 firms with internationalisation in the former Portuguese colonies was rerun to be compared with the total sample results. The findings suggest that firm capabilities maintain their importance in the presence of colonial ties, whereas psychic distance and perceived risk seem to be distorted or absent from the decision process of the market entry.

Details

Business, Society and Politics
Type: Book
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/S1876-066X(2012)0000028013
ISBN: 978-1-78052-990-5

Keywords

  • Colonial ties
  • entry mode
  • firm capabilities
  • psychic distance
  • risk

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