decolonization

noun

de·​col·​o·​ni·​za·​tion (ˌ)dē-ˌkä-lə-nə-ˈzā-shən 

: the act or practice of decolonizing

[Frantz] Fanon also described mental decolonization, the shedding of the colonizer's values and practices …

—Jackie Byars

[Ngũgĩ wa] Thiong'o is a passionate advocate for African authors writing in their native tongue as a form of preserving culture and achieving linguistic decolonization. "Language, any language, has a dual character: it is both a means of communication and a carrier of culture," he has written.

—Jackie Bischof

The 20th century may be defined in the West by the World Wars and the Cold War, but for much of the rest of the planet it was the age of decolonization, when old structures of (often racial) domination and power gave way to new states, new nations, and new politics.

—Kanishk Tharoor

Examples of decolonization in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Non-Aligned Movement, formed during the collapse of the colonial systems and at the height of the Cold War, has played a key part in decolonization processes, according to its website. —Risdel Kasasira, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Jan. 2024

Puerto Ricans must continue to demand their right to independence, decolonization, and self-determination, working tirelessly toward a free, democratic, and prosperous nation. —Javier A Hernandez, Orlando Sentinel, 20 Nov. 2024

But world wars and decolonization saw the rise of many new and often quite small nation-states. —Shivshankar Menon, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2024

What’s surprising about this practice, which first gained currency in nineteenth-century European cities, was that it was still being done so late in the day, long after the midpoint of the century of decolonization; by then, most of Africa was recently independent. —Percy Zvomuya, Artforum, 1 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1836, in the meaning defined above