Discourse on Colonialism is a 1950 essay by Afro-Martiniquan poet, author and politician Aimé Césaire. Written in surrealist poetic prose, the essay analyses the origins of European fascism, arguing that Nazism is not an exception in European history, but the natural conclusion of a civilization that justifies colonization. Césaire criticizes the "civilizing mission" and argues that colonialism de-civilizes the colonizer, as the instruments of colonial power rely on racism, torture, and barbaric violence, all which result in the degradation of Europe itself. The essay is the origin of the imperial boomerang theory, which posits that the repressive techniques used to control colonial territories are eventually deployed domestically against the colonizing countries' own citizens.