Core-periphery relations in world-system analysis: political aspects

Abstract

The article is devoted to the consideration of the «center-periphery» relations in the world-system analysis. It is considered how one of the founders of the world-system analysis, Immanuel Wallerstein, borrowed the provisions of the dependence theory. Using retrospective and hermeneutic methods, we reproduce the origin and development of center-periphery relations, and with them the entire capitalist world-system. Particular attention is paid to the semi-periphery – the territories located between the center and the periphery. Introducing the concept of a semi-periphery, Wallerstein solves a number of problems associated with his application of the theory of dependence. At the same time, with the introduction of the semi-periphery, a number of problems arise - how to determine the state belonging to the semi-periphery, as well as the problem of the role of the semi-periphery in the functioning of the capitalist world-system. These problems are caused by the absence of intermediate zones in the dependence theory. A separate problem is related to the political status of the periphery and semi-periphery. In the case of the periphery, this is the problem of political subjectivity within the framework of a long historical time (historically, not every state of the periphery is a colony, but the colonies are the periphery) in relation to the semi-periphery - primarily its stabilizing role. This function, as the study showed, is attributed to it erroneously. Based on this, it is necessary to revise the theoretical paradigms of world-system analysis.