Marxist Theories of Imperialism in the Post–Cold War Era

Abstract

How have Marxist theories of imperialism evolved in the post–Cold War era? How do they inform us about contemporary forms of imperialism? This chapter reveals that post–Cold War theories of imperialism have developed in two distinct waves. The first wave was triggered mostly by reactions to the offensive of what one could call the ‘globalist’, or ‘transnationalist’ camp, which finds its strongest expression in the thesis of ‘empire’ and transnational capitalist classes. In turn, the detractors of globalism centred their analyses on the contradictions of neoliberalism as the strongest manifestation of contemporary imperialism, where states continue playing a leading role. With the recent decade, there has emerged a second wave of theorizing about imperialism, which took off following the crisis of global capitalism in 2007/2008 and the rise of imperialist interventionism since 2011. This second wave lays stronger emphasis on the North-–South divide without overlooking the chief role of states, and redeploys Lenin’s terminology of uneven development, labour aristocracy, and super-profits. Overall, the chapter uses the method of integrative review to re-visit contemporary theories of imperialism as a whole by discussing how they can contribute to a multidimensional understanding of the phenomenon of imperialism in (geo)political, economic, and sociocultural terms.