ABSTRACT
In colonizing nations, there had always been an inconsistency between celebrating national sovereignty at home and crushing sovereignty abroad. Democratic institutions were critical in allowing the public questioning of the empire to be readily reflected in public policy. Britain, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands each had democratic institutions that could question imperial policy and vote to change it. One counter-argument against decolonization often employed in Europe was that many of their colonies were ethnically or religiously diverse. The fact that colonial powers came themselves to question the value and virtue of colonies meant that decolonization often occurred reasonably peacefully. This sort of peaceful transition is almost unheard of historically: Imperial decline has generally been associated with foreign invasion or internal rebellion. The Second World War also changed the relative power of various states. The European colonizers were eclipsed by two powers that had played a critical role in winning the war: the United States and the Soviet Union.
