Settler Colonialism: An Introduction

An accessible introduction to the history and characteristics of settler colonialism.

From the Palestinian struggle against Israeli Apartheid to First Nations’ mass campaigns against pipeline construction in North America, Indigenous peoples are at the forefront of some of the crucial struggles of our age. Rich with their unique histories, characteristics, and social relations, they are connected by the shared enemy they face: settler colonialism.

In this introduction, Sai Englert highlights the ways in which it has, and continues to shape our global economic and political order. From the rapacious accumulation of resources, land, and labor, through Indigenous dispossession and genocide, to the development of racism as a form of social control, settler colonialism is deeply connected to many of the social ills we face today.

To understand settler colonialism, we need to start engaging with contemporary social movements and solidarity campaigns in order to see how struggles for justice and liberation are intertwined.