Globalization and Digitalization: A New Form of Colonialism? Digital Economic Dependence in the Global South

Holotă Anamaria () and Jebeli-Bakht-Ara Hesam ()
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Holotă Anamaria: Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania
Jebeli-Bakht-Ara Hesam: Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania

Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence, 2025, vol. 19, issue 1, 432-443

Abstract: Global economies and societies have undergone tremendous change because of the quick development of digital technology, yet these advancements mask ingrained trends in worker exploitation, resource extraction, and geopolitical power relations. This study looks at “digital colonialism,” in which powerful international organizations and multinational corporations, primarily from wealthier countries, attempt to influence the technical environments of less developed states that have a colonial past. The research emphasizes how technical improvements maintain political and economic imbalances. Some academics highlight how multinational firms shape digital infrastructures, while others concentrate on the geopolitical ramifications of labor exploitation and resource extraction in former colonies. Empirical studies that identify the material underpinnings of digital technologies and their neocolonial implications are still lacking, nevertheless. To fill this gap, our study analyzes the extraction of essential raw resources, namely aluminum from Guinea and cobalt from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), to show how digitization contributes to the perpetuation of colonial activities. We examine (1) which former colonies own these vital resources, (2) the volume and direction of resource exports, and (3) the manufacturing and sale of completed technological items using data from the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) for 2022. We reveal the exploitative circumstances under which these resources are sourced and their wider geopolitical ramifications through document analysis and case studies. Despite supposedly advocating for a more environmentally friendly future, our research shows that the EU’s sustainability and digital objectives mostly depend on exploitative methods that are reminiscent of colonial-era exploitation. Economic dependency and environmental degradation in supplier countries are sustained by the Global South’s ongoing raw material extraction and refining as well as the industrial supremacy of middle-tier powers like China. The moral dilemma of sustainability initiatives that subtly perpetuate past injustices is highlighted by this study. By emphasizing the continued existence of neocolonial dependencies in the digital economy and advocating for a more inclusive approach to global digitalization, this study adds to the current conversations on techno-colonialism. The study also emphasizes the necessity of decolonizing digital infrastructures and ensuring that marginalized voices are included in shaping the future of digital economies.

Keywords: digital colonialism; resource extraction; technological dependency; neocolonialism; sustainability paradox (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:vrs:poicbe:v:19:y:2025:i:1:p:432-443:n:1003

DOI: 10.2478/picbe-2025-0036

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