by Paul Johnson

About the author: Paul Johnson is an historian and is the author of Modern Times: The World from the Twenties to the Eighties.

We are witnessing today a revival of colonialism, albeit in a new form. It is a trend that should be encouraged, it seems to me, on practical as well as moral grounds. There simply is no alternative in nations where governments have crumbled and the most basic conditions for civilized life have disappeared, as is now the case in a great many third-world countries.

The New Colonialism

Third-world governments have long sought military assistance from the advanced powers to put down internal rebellions. But a historic line was crossed when American marines landed in Somalia [in November 1992]— without any request, because no government existed...