Policy Discussion Paper: The Return of Empire? Rethinking Colonialism in a Fragmenting World Order

Dennis Snower and Margo Thomas
Additional contact information
Margo Thomas: Women's Economic Imperative

INET Oxford Working Papers from Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford

Abstract: The article argues that the erosion of the postwar rules-based order is giving rise to a new, networked form of colonialism, characterized by extraction, asymmetry, and transactional power. Unlike classical empire, this "new colonialism" operates through digital infrastructures, financial systems, and geopolitical influence rather than direct territorial control. The authors interpret these dynamics as a pathological concentration of agency that undermines human flourishing. They propose "recoupling" collective capacities with collective challenges—through distributed agency, coalition-based governance, and multidimensional wellbeing metrics—as a pathway toward a more inclusive, post-colonial global order.

Pages: 7 pages
Date: 2026-04
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://oms-inet.files.svdcdn.com/production/files ... 26.pdf?dm=1777993354 (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:amz:wpaper:2026-11

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in INET Oxford Working Papers from Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by INET Oxford admin team ().