A Deterritorialized History: Investigating German Colonialism ...

colonialism. An explanation that seeks to avoid the problems of older historiography,
while incorporating more recent arguments, is the preferred approach.
Deterritorialization excels in being able to combine the search for the elements that
motivated colonialism with an awareness of the multiple interactions within colonial
relations. The theory’s ability to easily accommodate the layering of important themes of
older interpretations under new approaches to the historical event is unparalleled in the
available historiography.
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This palimpsestic methodology layers new interpretations on top of older
approaches to the topic in order to present the most holistic image of German
colonialism. The methodology is mirrored in the discussion of the role of the centre and
periphery in colonial power relationships which highlights the respective influence of
both Germany and Africa. This follows Robinson and Gallagher’s “excentric” theory,
where colonialism is a function of both resistance and collaboration. 3 Fieldhouse’s
peripheral resistance thesis also holds true in the German context: the processes of
negotiation and compromise between metropolitan and colonial influences demonstrably
guided German colonial policy. Thus, in isolation both the centre and the periphery
theses are problematic. In this respect, the approaches of more recent works that stress
the equality of internal and external factors in the expansion offer great benefit. 4
If there can be no determining pole of colonialism, how can the motivating forces
of colonialism be identified? This analysis has stressed the motivations behind
colonialism because these forces are so vital to understanding structures and discourses
underpinning the expansion. The exploration of the four themes and the ways in which
Africa impinged on German colonialism aims to indicate how any singular conception of