World Systems Theory
Overview
World History
World History, Global History or Transnational history is a field of historical study that emerged as a distinct academic field in the 1980s. It examines history from a global perspective...
and social change
Social change
Social change refers to an alteration in the social order of a society. It may refer to the notion of social progress or sociocultural evolution, the philosophical idea that society moves forward by dialectical or evolutionary means. It may refer to a paradigmatic change in the socio-economic...
.
The world-systems theory stresses that world-system
World-system
World-system is a crucial element of the world-system theory, a multidisciplinary, macro-scale approach to world history and social change. Within that theory, world-system means a socioeconomic system, one encompassing part of or the entirety of the globe. World-systems are usually larger than...
s (and not nation states) should be the basic unit of social analysis. World-system refers to the international division of labor, which divides the world into core countries
Core countries
In World Systems Theory, the core countries are the industrialized capitalist countries on which periphery countries and semi-periphery countries depend. Core countries control and benefit from the global market. They are usually recognized as wealthy nations with a wide variety of resources and...
, semi-periphery countries
Semi-periphery countries
In world-systems theory, the semi-periphery countries are the industrializing, mostly capitalist countries which are positioned between the periphery and core countries...
and the periphery countries
Periphery countries
In World Systems Theory, the periphery countries are those that are less developed than the semi-periphery and core countries. These countries usually receive a disproportionately small share of global wealth. They have weak state institutions and are dependent on – according to some, exploited...
. Core countries focus on higher skill, capital
Capital (economics)
In economics, capital, capital goods, or real capital refers to already-produced durable goods used in production of goods or services. The capital goods are not significantly consumed, though they may depreciate in the production process...
-intensive production, and the rest of the world focuses on low-skill, labor-intensive production and extraction of raw materials.
