The Western Alliance with Local Thugs to Shape the World
There is a clear pattern in European and Western strategies for exerting and maintaining dominance over non-European societies, and it is not a new one. A recurring method has been to ally with — and create shared interests with — the most harmful actors within those societies.
For example, in Africa, as in almost all regions throughout history, there were minority of evil people, groups or tribes that attacked others to steal resources or capture them for forced labor. However, the scale of these practices was generally limited, contained within local contexts, and constrained by broader human norms, customs, and the need for continued coexistence.
With colonialism, this dynamic changed dramatically. European powers entered these regions and formed alliances with those violent actors, empowering them and turning local wrongdoing into a system of industrial-scale exploitation. They supplied weapons in exchange for captives (slaves); the “dirty work” was outsourced, allowing Europeans to avoid direct involvement while reaping the benefits.
This strategy served multiple purposes. First, locals understood the terrain and social dynamics and could carry out such operations far more effectively. Second, it was considerably cheaper — as seen, for example, in the 1953 CIA-backed coup in Iran, where hired street mobs carried out violent tasks for a fraction of the allocated budget. Third, and perhaps most importantly in the long run, it preserved a sense of moral “cleanliness”: both for domestic audiences (“We intervene because these people are incapable of governing themselves”) and for shaping future historical narratives (“Slave trading existed long before we arrived,” ignoring the vast difference in scale, structure, and intent).
This pattern did not end with colonialism. Similar strategies continue today, with powerful nations often supporting the most destructive actors in other societies whenever it aligns with geopolitical or economic interests.
