Overlapping imperialisms: colonial and neocolonial logics of urban governance in Kilamba, Angola

Abstract

This article examines the urban project of Kilamba in Luanda, Angola, as a site where distinct imperial logics operate through development finance and urban governance. Rather than treating Portuguese colonial rule and China’s contemporary engagement as separate historical phases, the study conceptualizes them as mutually reinforcing regimes of power coexisting within a single urban space. To capture this configuration, it advances the concept of “overlapping imperialisms,” defined as a condition in which imperial forms of governance with distinct historical origins become institutionalized within the same national or urban context and produce layered effects of inclusion and exclusion. By situating urban space at the intersection of colonial governance and contemporary development finance, particularly oil-backed credit, this article contributes to debates in international relations on postcolonial governance, South–South cooperation, and the spatialization of global power. It argues that development-led urbanization can function as a mechanism through which imperial forms of governance persist and are reconfigured in postcolonial contexts.