The Self-consciousness of Post-imperial Nations

Dietmar Rothermund
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Dietmar Rothermund: Dietmar Rothermund is Professor Emeritus, South Asia Institute, Heidelberg University, Germany. Dietmar.Rothermund@t-online.de

India Quarterly: A Journal of International Affairs, 2011, vol. 67, issue 1, 1-18

Abstract: Self-consciousness is a state of mind induced by a feeling of being critically observed by others. Former colonial powers have experienced this feeling to an increasing extent in recent years. These experiences were similar among several nations such as the British, the Dutch, the Belgians, the French, the Portuguese and the Japanese, but so far no comparative studies have been made which show the common features of such self-conscious responses. In the present article an attempt has been made to do this for the nations mentioned here. It is interesting to note that inspite of the fact that the era of decolonisation has passed some time ago, the most intensive debates on the colonial experience have arisen only now. The presence of immigrants from the ex-colonial nations in the respective metropolitan countries has contributed to the poignancy of such debates.

Keywords: Decolonisation; collective memory; immigration; racism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:indqtr:v:67:y:2011:i:1:p:1-18

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