Settler Colonialism and Franchise Colonialism

Israel's assault on Gaza has led to a huge upsurge in discussion of settler colonialism and the extent to which the term accurately describes the Zionist project in Palestine. In Settler Colonialism: An Introduction, Sai Englert provides an authoritative overview of the history of settler colonialism and resistance to it, from the South African anti-Apartheid struggle to campaigns against pipeline construction in North America. In the interview we discuss the history of settler colonialism, from the British colonies in North America to the Portuguese Empire in Brazil, and from Apartheid South Africa to the French settler state in Algeria. We talked about the economic logics that made genocidal campaigns against indigenous societies possible in some contexts, but not in others, and about the surprisingly complex process of racialisation that enabled the plunder of indigenous resources and labour. Finally, we discussed why Israel, contrary to the claims of liberal apologists, belongs firmly in the settler colonial tradition.