Recolonization is a process in which former or new colonizing powers retain influence over former colonies in respects which effectively replicate or reproduce the conditions for the former colony which existed under direct colonialism, especially in instances in which the former colony is now an independent nation state. Recolonization inherently references the failure or incomplete nature of decolonization and is often used to reference the conditions of former colonies in the Global South, many of which are now officially independent and sovereign nations yet are still subjugated to former colonial powers in the Global North by global capitalism, which maintains continued resource extraction and military control (e.g. counter-revolutionary forces and regime changes) in former colonies with the explicit purpose of serving and benefiting the interests of the former or new colonizing powers.[1][2][3] The term has been compared to neocolonialism, although has been distinguished as a more powerful metaphor regarding the continued influence of colonial powers over former colonies.[2]