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Glite Dictionary
🌍 Indirect control 🧑‍💼 A foreign controller
neocolonial

neocolonial

9.9
A person, government, or policy that supports indirect foreign control over a country
  • noun
  • /ˌniːoʊˈkɒləniəl/
translation icon : neocolonial
  • Critics argue that many policies are influenced by neocolonials who prioritize foreign interests over local needs.

Examples

  • During the conference, the speaker highlighted how neocolonials maintain power through economic dependencies.

  • The rituals of street violence, the most powerful instrument for expressing the claim to Gabonese identity and its accompanying rights, were turned upon the state itself and upon the extraordinary privilege of Gabonese elites and French neocolonial interests.

    Academic text (1998)

  • The neocolonials engaged in exploiting local resources while exerting indirect control over the government.

Synonyms

imperialism
vsneocolonial
28 8.0

A policy in which a country takes control of other countries, often by taking land or using force

focuses more on indirect influence and economic control rather than direct conquest
colonialist
vsneocolonial
5 7.8

A person who supports a country taking control of other lands

applies to actors who use indirect influence rather than direct territorial control
neocolonialist
vsneocolonial
  • Literature
1 9.9

A person, government, or company that controls poorer countries indirectly to take their resources

includes actors and policies that also profit from indirect foreign control or influence
neocolonialism
vsneocolonial
1 9.9

A powerful country that uses money, trade or political power to control poorer countries

names actors, policies, or groups that practice or benefit from that indirect control

How Controlling

imperial
1 7.5
neocolonial
9.9
independent
360 2.8

Surface Forms

neocolonial singular
neocolonials plural

Morphology

neocolonial = colonial (semi-transparent) = neo + colony + al

The word is clearly built from the productive prefix 'neo-' plus 'colonial', but the noun sense is specialized and refers to an abstract political role or policy rather than a fully literal composition.

Etymology

A neocolonial comes from neo- 'new' and colony 'a settlement controlled by another country'. So a neocolonial is a person, government, or policy that uses indirect economic or political pressure to keep power over another country.