Neo-imperialism was marked by a period of intensified imperialistic expansion in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It included not only the earlier colonial powers of Western Europe, but also new powers such as Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, and the United States. It was industrial capitalism driven coupled with technological revolution that set the tone for the rise of new- imperialism in the world.

Following factors led to rise of New Imperialism:

1. Role of political factors: All industrialized regimes, whether democratic or absolute, saw imperialism as a tool to maintain political control at home. Military victory over colonies and empire building not only improved the economy of the colonial power, but raised the prestige and national glory of the rulers as well. For instance, Italy and Czarist Russia joined the race for colonies.
2. Role of nationalism: Nationalism which rose after the French Revolution (1789) soon manifested in the form of economic rivalry among the nation states. National rivalries were further fuelled by nationalist ideas propounded by the nationalist thinkers as in the cases of Britain, France, Germany and Italy. Also, absolute monarchies relied on both imperialism and nationalism to divert attention of the public, which was getting exposed to ideas of democracy.
3. Role of industrial revolution/industrial capitalism: A cycle of increased demand for manufactured goods, profits, capital formation, demand for raw material, surplus production and demand for export markets resulted in Industrial Capitalism (Capitalism after Industrial Revolution when production of goods was done in factories with machines), which gave a direct thrust to Imperialism.
4. Increased number of players: Following industrial revolution in the rest of Europe, USA and Japan after the 1870s, the number of industrialised countries increased and they desperately started looking for sources of raw material and export markets, which drove them to enter new rivalries.
5. Decreased geographical space: With an increased number of players in the 19th century, any further expansion could only occur at the expense of another colonial power. Thus, colonialism changed into Imperialism as now State’s military power and tighter control over colonies was needed to maintain and expand the colonial empire. For instance, China and Africa were also scrambled among European nations.
6. Religion and cultural factors: Other factors like aspirations of Christian missionaries to spread Christianity and the notion of White Man’s burden to spread superior civilization in the backward colonies also played a role. For example, Belgium’s King Leopold II used the latter as a garb for exploiting Congo. On the contrary, these factors also included advocating for rights of women and spread of modern education in colonies too thus contributing indirectly to the rise of imperialism in colonies.

Neo-imperialism is the phase of late imperialism that arose in the contemporary world, against the background of economic globalization and financial expansion. This distinctive colonial period marked by new imperialism reflected the dissemination of technologies, ideas, and beliefs that continued into the present-day world.