2023-11-13
By Abinash Phulkonwar
Paper title: Theories of International Relations
Immanuel Wallerstein’s World System Theory explain capitalist world economy system, its evolution and impact on different groups of states. Wallerstein defined world system as a socio-economic unit with a single division of labour and members of this unit are mutually interdependent. Wallerstein elaborates world system differences with mini system. Mini systems are based on single division of labour and culturally unified and don’t have connections with outside. Whereas world system is not culturally unified, it contains many different cultures and economically interconnected beyond political boundaries and borders.
Wallerstein classifies world system into two categories --- world empires and world economy. World empire is a political unit with a lager bureaucratic structure base on dominance by conquest. For instance, British Empire in modern history. On the other hand, world economy is an economic unit containing multiple political units and cultures, don’t have any common political unit or interest and characterised by unified capitalist economic interest. Wallerstein's primary focus lies in understanding the dynamics of world economies
World system theory developed as an alternative of modernization theory, which seek to provide that development is happened in stages. And underdeveloped states are in the initial stage of development. It seeks to provide a perception that if underdeveloped states follow the steps of developed states, then they can become developed. World system theory critics the modernization theory, it fails to provide understanding of global economy as an integrated whole or totality. It fails to account the relationships between developed and underdeveloped states and how this relationship impacts development of underdeveloped states and origin, evolution and expansion of capitalist system and impacted of this capitalist system on underdeveloped states.
There are series of sources that have significantly influence and shape the thoughts of Emmanual Wallerstein and his world system theory. Much of this influence has been drawn from dependency theory, Maxsim and Neo-Maxsim and Annales school.
Dependency Theory
The world system theory provided a clear conceptual break from the modernization theory. Shows close association with dependency theory, which originated as a critique to the modernization theory. In fact, world-systems theory in many respects is regarded as adaptation of dependency theory. World system theory like dependency theory critics the modernization theory and its stages of development and mention that the underdevelopment in the modern capitalist system due to historic and continuing economic and other relations between developed and underdeveloped states.
Event to world system theory critics modernization theory and established dependency theory as one of the most influential precursors to it. But world system theory provided a more advance framework for understanding development and underdeveloped as a globally integrated process. Wallerstein’s three tire division of world states into core, semi-periphery and periphery provided a better understanding of world capitalist system.
Annales school
Annales school is a historiographical approach that emerged in the early 20th century. It characterized by focus on long term historical process and structure, interdisciplinary research incorporating social sciences, geography, and economics into historical analysis, amins to understand underling structures and patterns of historical development, including economic, social, and cultural changes. Annales school have significant influence over world system theory as it shaped the historiographical methodology and approaches of world system theory to understand the capitalist economy.
Prominent figure of Annales school such as, Fernand Braudel’s “longue durée” or long-term historical structures, inspired Wallerstein to historiographical study the capitalist economy system. The influence of the Annales school has led to a broader and macro-level analysis of the origin and evolution of the world capitalist system, its long-term structures, patterns, and its trends and changes over time.
As Wallerstein defined that world system is a socio-economic unit with a single division of labour and members of the system are mutually interdependence. Which contains multiple culture and political units, don’t have any political centre. He classifies world system into two category – world empire and world economy. World empire is a large bureaucratic system with a political centre based on conquest. On the other hand, world economy is characterized by unified capitalist economic interest, not by political interest. In the world economy members are interconnected and economic interest defined their mutual relationship. Wallerstein main point of attention is the world economy.
To explain the origin and evolution of world capitalist system, Wallerstein divided the word into 4 categories: Core, Periphery, Semi-Periphery and external areas. Each category or economic zone have its own distinct economic and a position in the world economy, by virtue of which they get advantage and benefits or disadvantage or explorations. Their relations are based on capitalist economic interest; Core, Periphery and Semi-Periphery states are interconnected through global trade. And their status is cyclic in nature states can jump up and down in the status from Core to Periphery and Periphery to Core.
Core states are highly developed and industrialized, have militarily most powerful and political control over global trade. They control the means of production and performed extremally skilled production tasks. Their high level of industrialization and technological advances attract skilled labour from all around the world. Core states produces the manufacturing goods rather raw materials. Core states have strong influence over non-core states. Core States take significant advantages over non-core states by exploiting and dominating the non-core states. They mainly used periphery state as a source of raw materials and cheap labour, sell their manufacturing goods to periphery states at high profit margin. By which, Core state takes most profits from the global trade.
Periphery states are economically and militarily marginalised and exploited by Core states. Periphery states are least industrialized, pool of large unskilled labour and tend to have little means of production. They mostly agriculture-based economy and exporters primary goods like agriculture items and raw materials. Mostly engaged in unskilled labour-intensive task. Because of lack of economic and industrial capacity then need to relay on Core states, which makes them vulnerable and caused economic exploitation. In the capitalist economy Core states competed to monopolized periphery states to maximize their profits and benefits.
Semi-Periphery states are the states that’s existed between Core and Periphery. They are relatively industrialized, but not have the level of control have by the Core state in global trade. Semi-Periphery states are developing states, mostly made of states that are fallen from the Core status and states that are trying to achieve the core status. They are relatively more developed and industrialized then Periphery states. Wallerstein mention that Semi-Periphery states are important in the world, as they operated as a buffer between Core and Periphery and deflect and ease the tension, pressure and opposition of groups in the peripheral areas that may challenge that may challenge the dominance of the core state.
External areas are existed the outside of the world capitalist economy not connected with outside world and engaged in internal commers. They maintain their own division of labour and have little foreign influence.
Wallerstein provided a historical analysis of origin and development of the capitalist world economy. According to him capitalist system shaped the world from 16th century. Initially capitalism come into existence because of crises and issues in the feudal system in Europe. Europe readily embrace the capitalist system to emerge strong industrially and technologically, which help lead to European dominance over the whole world. Because of the capitalism European established and conquer much of the world.
According to Wallerstein capitalism spread and European dominance happened in some phases around 3 to 4 phases. First phases happened in 16th century. The Core states are consisting of northwest European states. This period Core are mainly engaged in specialized agriculture, minerals and basic commodity production. Periphery of this period are consisted of states in America and Carribean. Their relationship was marked by slavery and cash crop production. Semi-Periphery states are consisted of state around Mediterranean Europe. Their strong state machinery and a powerful bourgeoisie class enable them to put themselves in a strong position by enforcing unequal exchange with the Peripheral states.
Second Phases of the capitalist world economy witness around 18th century, this stage marked by the emerge of the Britain as a core state. Britain able to resist French attempts to establish it economically strong. At this point world system marked as by world empire, where single empire containing multiple culture and have a large administrative system centred to a political centre.
Third Stage of the capitalist world economy witnessed in 19th century. At this point world readily shift from the agriculture to industrial age. Europe heavily industrialized itself. The Core exchange manufacturing goods with periphery and the Britian emerge as “the workshop of the world”. Improvement in Military and shipping enable Britian to trade with other semi-peripheral state. This period witness's European expansion in Asia and Africa. European conquest of Asia’s and Africa’s state included most of the world into world economy.
Fourth stage of the capitalist world economy started in 20th century, after the end of world war I British empire started to gradually be weakening and the USA start to take the role of the British empire. And in the end of the World War II, Japan and Europe ruined and the USA take the dominant position in the world system and shaped it according to their need. During the cold war, to contains USSR and communism to spared around the world system, the USA started the rebuilding the west Europe and Japan. The USA started to explore new markets in Latin America, Middle East, and Asia.
After end of the cold war, the USA position is changed and now the USA used it allis network to dominate and controlled the global trade, making the Core. Semi-periphery states are consisted of Singapore, Hong Kong, India, they had not reached the level of industrialization and influence achieved by the USA and its network of allies. The Periphery states are consisting of Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and many states of African continent.
Wallerstein World System theory offer a coherent explain about the development of modern capitalist system, how it operates, impact of economic interest rather than political interest defined the world system, it able to show the historic exploitation of Peripheral areas. How exploitation played a role in the underdevelopment of Peripheral areas. It able explain that the causes of the underdevelopment in Peripheral areas are the exploitation by the Core. How Core prevent them from developing, benefits from the global trade and control over the global trade.
Furthermore, Wallerstrial world system theory able to offer how capitalist economy started in 16th century, how it spared all around the world in phases, how it includes all most all the world. Wallerstrial with this theory offered historic analysis and explanation of origin and evaluation of the capitalist world economy.
Another achievement of the world system theory is that it able to provide a explain of the world system as an integrated whole. This theory able to offer explanation how international division of labour works. How different components of the world economy are working together as a single socio-economic unit or system.
Additionally, Wallerstein world system theory can be used in explanation how globalization is stared, what are the core motives that inspired us to make an interconnected world economic system, how over the centuries it happened, how different states and empires shaped it, what are the major events that shaped the modern world, impacted of European conquest in the current interconnected world economy, why certain state are not able to developed in the current system. Wallerstein theory can be very useful to find on explanation these issues and questions.
Although Wallerstein world system theory offer a coherent explanation of the capitalist world economy. But it has its own flaws and invited various criticism over the years. First criticism, world system theory is very Eurocentric and offer an approach that explain origin and expansion of capitalist world economy that centred the European’s. It simple not account the Great powers that exist before the 16th century and the Great powers that exist outside of the European continent. For instance, the China was holding more economic muscles than much of the Europe in 18th and much of 19th century. Because of World system theory does not account that, the question raised how much credible it is, how can it explain the whole world economy if simple it does not account the impact and role of the other Great powers that exist outside of the European continent.
Second criticism comes from that the world system theory gives too much importance on economic factor and ignored the other factor like culture that played a critical role in the change, shaped, and evaluation of the world today we know. R. Robertson and F. Lechner argues that there is a world system of global culture and autonomous from the economic process that means that cultural changes not dependent on economic changes and can played a role in shaping the modern world.
Third criticism argues, the world system theory overemphasized the external factor in the shaping of a state, its development and chances of success and outlook the internal factor that played a role in bringing changes in a state, decides its position and economic development like class straggle, internal conflicts, internal politics, the culture of a state.
Fourth criticism, the world system theory ignored the importance of the politics in the world that also played a critical role in shaping the world. It does not account the state's political ambition like securing itself, interest of Great powers, and the ambitious leader like Hitler whose action motives are completely different from world system theories economic interest defined world system or Napolean whose motives are combination of political, personal, economic and strategic objectives and interests.
Fifth criticism comes from that how much world system theory can help to explain the globalized world, where notion of global flow that takes us beyond understanding of the world system. The globalized world is far more connected and have more groups than the only three group's Core, Periphery and Semi-Periphery. In the globalized world there are multiple Cores and Periphery in multiple sectors of the economy, some state might be a Core in certain sector and at a same time a Periphery in some other field. Although this criticism might be not valid criticism because world system theory comes in 1970s, and socio-economic factors changes dramatically since then specially after 21st century, and probably it's not a good idea to use world system theory to explain the current world order.
Wallerstein world system theory is an excellent option to analysis history and development of the capitalist world economy. World system theory offer a coherent framework to analysis the evaluation of capitalist world economy, its impact on world, reasons underdevelopment of many states, international division of labour. Additionally, world system explains the European conquest, their exploration of the underdeveloped world, their control on global trade, how their control impact on underdeveloped world in a historical approach with provided a clear picture of the evaluation of world system over the centuries, how to economic interest defined the world economy rather than the politics. World system theory explained that the underdevelopment in Peripheral states is due to the centuries of exploitation that happened on them. World system theory offer an analysis of the contemporary world of it time as an integrated whole.
However, World system theory have its own flaws and error, attracted criticism over the years. Many critics argue that is too much Eurocentric, not account the impacted of outside powers of the Europe in shaping world system. Some argued that it doesn’t account the other factor that shaped the world, like culture. Some argued that it ignored the role of politics; ambitions of state to self-preserve; leader who many occasion act accordingly to their personal interest and beliefs not by economic interest or many times act by the combination of many factors personal interest, glory, strategic interest an ambitions, beliefs and hatred towards some community. Additionally, it ignored the internal environment of a state that also played a role in the development of the state and shaped the state like internal conflict, class straggle, internal politics, larders ambition and their cultural impact on the state.
In conclusion, Event to world system theory have many flaws, it able to offer a coherent framework to explain the world system in a historic perspective. But this need to take account that there is no single theory that can explain everything, every theory has its flaws and strengths. Using a theory to explain a scenario, it is crucial to consider both of its strength and weakness.