Cocacolonization

Coca-Cola advertising in the High Atlas mountains of Morocco
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Cocacolonization (alternatively coca-colonization) refers to the globalization of American culture (also referred to as Americanization) pushed through popular American products such as the soft-drink brand Coca-Cola.[1] The term is a portmanteau of the name of the multinational soft-drink maker and "colonization".[2]

The term was first documented in 1949 in Australia[3] and in France, where the French Communist Party strongly opposed the further expansion of Coca-Cola.[4]: 106  In 1948, the French finance ministry stood against "Coke" on the grounds that its operation would bring no capital to help with French recovery, and was likely to drain profits back to the parent company in the United States.[4]: 106  The French Communist Party also warned that the Coke distribution-system would double as an espionage network.[4]: 107 

In World War II (1939-1945) and the Cold War (1947-1991), many outside of the United States associated Coca-Cola with American culture. Seeing ties to the culture of the United States, some Europeans rejected perceived attempts to cocacolonize[5] their countries, objecting to what they saw as an invasion of their nationalistic identities.[6] Europeans saw Coca-Cola not just as a carbonated refreshment, but as bottled America.[6] By the end of the Cold War, American ideals were spread across the world by Coke and in certain cases, used to combat Communism.[1][need quotation to verify]

Cocacolonization as a historical concept gained visibility in the Americanization debate in Europe with the 1994 publication of Reinhold Wagnleitner's book Coca-Colonization and the Cold War: The Cultural Mission of the United States in Austria After the Second World War.[2] Wagnleitner used "Coca-Colonization" to embody the premise of his book: the United States of America attempted cultural imperialism by expanding American ideals through the spread of consumer goods such as Coca-Cola and Levi jeans, and through cultural symbols like rock and roll and Marlon Brando's black leather jacket, as well as through the promotion of democracy in Europe.[2]

The expression "coca-colonization" also appears in medical literature to describe the lifestyle changes and the associated increase of incidence of characteristic chronic diseases, e.g. type 2 diabetes.[7][8][9]

  1. ^ a b Pendergrast, Mark (1993). "A Brief History of Coca-Colonization". The New York Times.
  2. ^ a b c Wagnleitner, Reinhold (1994). "Introduction". Coca-Colonization and the Cold War: The Cultural Mission of the United States in Austria After the Second World War. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 978-0-8078-4455-7.
  3. ^ "coca-colonization". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  4. ^ a b c Hunt, Michael H. (2015-06-26). The world transformed : 1945 to the present. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199371020. OCLC 907585907.
  5. ^ "coca-colonize". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  6. ^ a b Gordon, Matthew (2011). "Coca-Colonization: The Exportation of "America" to Europe Following World War II". HubPages.
  7. ^ Leatherman, Thomas L.; Goodman, Alan (2005-08-01). "Coca-colonization of diets in the Yucatan". Social Science & Medicine. 61 (4): 833–846. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2004.08.047. PMID 15950095.
  8. ^ Nagata, Jason M.; Barg, Frances K.; Valeggia, Claudia R.; Bream, Kent D. W. (2011). "Coca-Colonization and Hybridization of Diets among the Tz'utujil Maya". Ecology of Food and Nutrition. 50 (4): 297–318. Bibcode:2011EcoFN..50..297N. doi:10.1080/03670244.2011.568911. PMID 21888598. S2CID 29683298.
  9. ^ Zimmet, P (2000). "Globalization, coca-colonization and the chronic disease epidemic: can the Doomsday scenario be averted?". Journal of Internal Medicine. 247 (3): 301–310. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2796.2000.00625.x. PMID 10762445. S2CID 2066542.