Knowra World-systems theory World-systems theory World-systems theory explains global inequality through a capitalist world economy structured into core, semiperipheral, and peripheral regions. It treats this system, rather than individual countries alone, as the main unit of historical analysis.
Core–periphery model : A model that describes relations between dominant centers and dependent, less-developed regions. It captures the spatial hierarchy that world-systems theory expands into a global historical system.
Global commodity chains : Transnational networks through which goods are produced, distributed, and consumed. Their stages reveal how production and profit are distributed across core and peripheral regions.
Immanuel Wallerstein : An American sociologist who developed world-systems analysis as a framework for modern history. His work established the framework’s central concepts and historical scope.
Modernization theory : A theory that explains development as a progression through stages toward modern industrial society. It treats national development paths differently from the theory’s emphasis on a shared world economy.
Global inequality : Unequal distributions of income, wealth, power, and life chances among people and countries worldwide. The theory explains these disparities as outcomes of a structured world economy.
Core countries : Countries that concentrate economic power, high-value production, and influence over global trade. They occupy the system’s dominant positions and benefit from unequal economic relations.
International division of labor : The geographic allocation of different kinds of work among countries and regions. Specialized roles help reproduce the unequal positions assigned to regions.
Annales School : A French historical movement emphasizing social structures, geography, and long-term historical change. Its attention to large-scale structures and long durations influenced Wallerstein’s approach.
Comparative advantage : An economic principle that favors specialization in goods produced at lower opportunity cost. Its account of trade gains contrasts with explanations centered on persistent global value extraction.
Colonialism : A system in which a state controls and exploits territories and populations beyond its borders. Colonial expansion helped create and reshape the global economic hierarchy the theory studies.
Show all 26