World-system Studies Research Articles

Conceptul de inter-imperialiate în periferie: modelul Wallerstein și cazul romanului Adam și Eva de Liviu Rebreanu

The aim of this article is to demonstrate that the concept of “inter-imperiality” elaborated by Anca Parvulescu and Manuela Boatcă can be more useful for analyzing East European narratives than Laura Doyle’s initial concept of “inter-imperiality.” The reason for this differentiation is the fact that Doyle operates with a descriptive deep time model, reminiscent of Wai Chee Dimock’s method, while Parvulescu and Boatcă use a critical model influenced by world-system studies (Immanuel Wallerstein) to portray capitalist modernity. In order to prove the latter’s actuality, this study analyzes the novel Adam și Eva [Adam and Eve] by Liviu Rebreanu from an inter-imperial perspective, portraying its trans-imperial universalism as a symptom of its peripherality.

The Development of World-Systems

This essay discusses conceptual issues that arise from the study of human social change. The comparative and evolutionary world-systems perspective is explained as a theoretical research program for studying long-term social change. This approach employs an anthropological framework of comparison for studying world-systems, including those of hunter-gatherers. Problems of spatially bounding whole human interaction networks are addressed, and the utility of a comparative approach to the study of hierarchical relations among human polities (core/periphery relations) is examined. The hypothesis of semiperipheral development is explained, and criteria for empirically identifying semiperipheral regions are specified. World history and global history are the most important evidential bases, along with prehistoric archaeology, for the comparative study of world-systems. Getting the grounds of comparison right by correctly conceptualizing the spatial units of analysis and paying careful attention to core/periphery relations are crucial issues in the effort to comprehend and explain the development of world-systems.

What does global migration network say about recent changes in the world system structure?

Purpose– The aim of this paper is to investigate whether the structure of the international migration system has remained stable through the recent turbulent changes in the world system.Design/methodology/approach– The methodology draws on the social network analysis framework – but with some noteworthy limitations stipulated by the specifics of data.Findings– The list of the most central nodes demonstrates remarkable stability over time, with the USA consistently occupying the first place and Russia and Germany stably entering the top-five (or even top-three ever since 1990). Centrality analysis also clearly demonstrates the emergence (in the 1970s) and development of the Gulf countries (particularly Saudi Arabia and UAE) as major migration destinations.Research limitations/implications– The results of the analysis present a mixture of evidence to support both the principles of the neoclassical migration theory, and some of its critiques, as the migration patterns are strongly influenced by historical links (such as colonial ties), geographical distance, cultural distance, etc. Defining the scope of influence of each of these factors lies beyond the scale of this paper. However, further application of social network analysis to studying the global migration network, in the authors ' opinion, has quite remarkable potential for contributing to this line of research.Originality/value– The paper views the specific features in the structure of the global migration network and their implications for world system studies.

Discovering the Envionment

This special issue of JWSR presents new research on the environment from a distinctly world-system perspective. World-system studies have recently discovered the environment. The turn toward the environment in any number of disciplines has resulted in the greening of this and that area of study. Now it is world-system studies turn. It is a little late; but better late than never. Actually, environmental and world-system studies have a great deal to offer each other. For environmental studies the focus upon the world economy as a whole makes a great deal of sense. Industrial plants in one country, or one region of the world may generate acid rain, but it can fall on other countries. The environment knows no political borders, hence a focus upon the world economy rather than the French, American or Brazilian economy, makes more sense. It is also the case that looking for systemic effects of different types of economics and political systems on the environment should follow the general direction of political/economic theory, which has been ratcheting its level of analysis ever upward to include more and more parts of the world as components of a singular world system. In effect, if we now believe that the most primal locus of economic and political process resides at the level of global interactions then to study the effects of political/economic processes upon the environment means studying the dynamics of the world-system. It is somewhat inevitable.

Introduction to the Volume's Two Thematic Sections

The first batch contains an article by Political Scientist Daniel Whitcncck on epistemic communities and global leadership and a special thematic section focussing around the ideas ofW. Warren Wagar regarding the future of the world-system and global politics. The second batch of papers in Volume 2 has been edited by P. Nick Kardulias of the Department of Anthropology and Sociology at Kenyon College. This special thematic section focusses on anthropological and archaeological approaches to the study of world systems.