Essay Example on Frantz Fanon's The Wretched of The Earth remains one of the most influential texts

In it's controversial and explicit critiques of Western imperialism Frantz Fanon's The Wretched of The Earth remains one of the most influential texts in international politics Fanon s theses on decolonisation while not entirely free of limitations and ambiguities continue to provide valuable insights into the psychological and political effects of oppression and dehumanisation still relevant to considerations of Western involvement around the world today Singler 2015 The text has shaped how we think about international politics mainly between Africa and Europe by highlighting to readers the extent of the long lasting and deep rooted effects of colonialism and foreign presence in colonised states From the perspective of the colonised the text explores the political effects as well as providing a psychological analysis of the dehumanising effects of colonialism on the individual and the nation Fanon also emphasises the importance and necessity of violence in the struggle for independence In the first chapter of the book Fanon provides an explanation as to why violence is a common characteristic in the process of decolonisation He states his fundamental argument in the text 

The political fight for power and liberty in colonised countries can only be resolved through a violent struggle This is because the colonies were created and maintained with violence the threat of violence and force therefore in Fanon's perspective violence is an essential act to undo the process of colonisation and to achieve complete liberation from their international colonial rulers In his explanation he directly justifies violence within third world countries although the notion being highly controversial the explanation and argument of violence throughout the text continues to shape how we view violence within international politics concerning third world countries as it gives an insight from another perspective why it occurs Indeed his explanation for violence can account for modern day international affairs such as the violence that occurred following America's occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan and the political disturbances in North Africa due to the influence and presence of American military forces in the many areas Within this first chapter Fanon presents the colonial world as separated into two the colonist and the colonised The common understanding of this divide among the colonised is enforced by the colonist to reinforce his superiority and the colonist upholds this hierarchy with the use of violence 

But that same independence which literally drives it into a corner will give rise within its ranks to catastrophic reactions and will oblige it to send out frenzied appeals for help to the former mother country Fanon 1961 This highlights the crisis of leadership organization and ideology facing the peoples of the Third World and reinforces my thesis of the essay that colonialism and foreign intervention has long lasting effects in every aspect of life colonised states regardless if they are independent or not Fanon a psychiatrist himself was particularly disturbed in how the process of colonialism affected the mind of the colonised people

 Of what I can infer from the text Fanon s understanding is that the colonist not only dominates and controls the colonised states politics but also dominates them psychologically by producing a hierarchy In his perspective this hierarchy is reinforced with violence and force In his psychological analysis he argues that because of this the colonised acquire psychological issues due to the suffering of violence from the colonists

Because of this political problems and psychological health are deeply connected When the colonized experience neuroses depression and other disorders the cure is as much political as it is personal Colonialism creates the very identities of colonized and colonist which makes it not only a political regime but also a psychological one Fanon's thesis on violence highlights that the politics of a country in this case political interference on a colony has major psychological effects on people living inside the colony The notion of this within the text has shaped how we view international politics and again reinforces the deep rooted effects of colonialism