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