economic colonization

I have always believed that there was only one type of colonization in our world, and that meant a large, powerful country taking over either an area of uncharted land or a smaller country. It’s something that barely exists in today’s world and is something out of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. What I have come to understand though is that there are different ways for colonization in today’s world. You can have political colonization where a country’s government is completely influenced by another country. You can also have economic colonization which is also gradual and is often tied with political colonization, as once you have one you basically have the other.
Economic colonization is the idea of one bigger and more powerful country basically taking over and accounting for a large portion of another country’s economy. The larger country will invest heavily through business and eventually gain control of the economy, thus making the smaller country dependent upon their investments. It is an idea that is very feasible in today’s world and it can be seen throughout the world. Some argue that American involvement in Iraq is a form or economic colonization. I would have to say that the two countries that tend to catch the most accusations of this practice are America and Russia.
I recently read an article in the New York Times about how there is a fear that Russia may be practicing economic colonization in the Balkans. The article focused on the small country of Montenegro, which over the past two decades has seen a large growth in foreign investments, especially from Russia. Russian millionaires have been investing a lot of their money in Montenegro and it has become a favorite visiting place of the Russian rich. The problem with the situation in Montenegro is that it is hard to tell just how much Russia is investing in the country and the statistics are off depending on who you get them from. Many fear that Russia is looking to economically colonize the tiny country and this would allow them to keep close political ties with that country and those in the Balkan region. Many also see this as a move against NATO and the European Union because many of the pro-Western governments in the Balkan region are seeking to join the organizations. Russia generally views both organizations as a threat to their political and economic well-being. In the article though, some Montenegrins feel that the Russian investment is good and is only helping their country.
Economic colonization is interesting because while it can lead to political colonization and problems, it also helps smaller countries grow. At the same time, though, these small countries become dependent of the larger countries and their economies, which in this economic day and age is quite dangerous. This article is about three months old, so it will be interesting to see if anything has changed in the country due to the economic climate of the world today and over the past few months. This economic colonization has a large affect on the global economy because it connects countries economically and makes them dependent of each other, which means if one hits hard times, they all do. This also further divides the world between Russia and the West, which is often not economically cooperative and a very delicate relationship.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/01/world/europe/01balkans.html?pagewanted=1&sq=economic%20colonization&st=cse&scp=3