Periphery countries

In world-systems theory, 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—and, according to some, exploited by—more developed countries. These countries are usually behind because of obstacles such as lack of technology, unstable government, and poor education and health systems. In some instances, the exploitation of periphery countries' agriculture, cheap labor, and natural resources aid core countries in remaining dominant. This is best described by dependency theory, which is one theory on how globalization can affect the world and the countries in it. It is, however, possible for periphery countries to rise out of their status and move into semi-periphery or core status. This can be done by doing things such as industrializing, stabilizing the government and political climate, etc.

Background Periphery countries are those that exist on the outer edges of global trade. There could be many reasons for a country to be considered peripheral. For example, some nations' customs and ports are so inefficient that even though they are geographically closer it is cheaper to ship goods from longer distances. Usually a peripheral country will specialize in one particular industry, leaving it vulnerable to economic instability and limiting international investment. Sometimes countries decide to isolate themselves, such as 14th century China.

Formation There are a variety of reasons that periphery countries remain the way they are. One important factor that keeps countries in the periphery is the lack of development of technology. Another way periphery countries come to be is either the lack of a central government or the periphery country is under the control of another country. Periphery countries are known for exporting raw goods to core countries. What tends to happen is the maximum gain a periphery nation could earn is less than needed to maintain an equilibrium between costs and revenues. One thing periphery nation could do is to stop the increase of exports. At the beginning of the 19th century, Asia and Africa were considered periphery and their lack of development enabled the United States and Germany to remain successful core nations. Although periphery nations are exploited by core countries, there is a purpose to the unequal exchanges of goods. For instance, the core countries have an incentive to gain a profit and this enables the world market to further grow. At times, there is a change in the balance of trade between the periphery and core countries. In this case, the governments of the periphery nation are affected in several ways. For instance, there is an increase in unemployment as well as a decrease in state income. This type of interaction is unique because the core country involved is somewhat weaker than normal. An example of this occurring is the growth of the industrial capabilities of Italy and Russia towards the end of the 19th century. This has also occurred in other periphery nations such as Brazil, Mexico, and South Africa.

History

15th century and 16th century The world-system of the 15th and 16th centuries was very different from the world-system of today. Several areas were beginning to develop into trading powers, but none were able to gain total control. For this reason, a core and periphery developed in each region as opposed to a global scale. Cities began to become the "core" with the more agricultural countryside becoming a sort of "periphery". The most underdeveloped region that was still involved in trade at the time was Europe. It had the weakest core and periphery areas. Two examples of periphery countries in the late 15th century and early 16th century are Poland and Latin America. At this time, Poland was mainly exporting wheat to other areas of Europe and Poland wanted cheap labor. As a result, landlords enslaved rural workers on their estate lands. Also, Latin America experienced an enslavement of their natives and imports of slaves from Africa. Forced mining labor was placed on the slaves, which enabled Latin America to export cheap goods to Europe. Both Poland and Latin America were similar during this time period because the aristocrats of these areas became more wealthy due to their interactions with the world economy. These areas of the world were also different from during medieval times in Europe. They are different because during the late 15th century and early 16th century, Poland and Latin America were producing goods and exporting them rather than simply consuming their raw goods.

Interactions The relationship that the periphery countries have with the core countries is one that is defined by the exploitation of the periphery countries by the core countries. As many countries began to industrialize they looked for cheap goods and products. These industrialized "core" countries would then look to the less developed "periphery" countries for cheap goods. In most cases it is much easier and inexpensive to get these goods from other countries. Core countries realized this and began to use these cheap resources. For the core countries to remain at the core, it is necessary that the periphery countries keep producing these cheap goods and remain mostly agricultural while the core countries are able to get goods very cheaply from the periphery and then are able to manufacture products and sell them at a relatively high price. The periphery countries are unable to make any gains because of this relationship and it is therefore impossible for them to ever industrialize. It is argued that if these countries are never able to industrialize, they will continue to remain on the periphery.

Imperialism's effect on core-periphery interactions The current relationship between core countries and periphery countries was mostly defined in the era of imperialism that occurred in the late 19th through the early 20th centuries. It was at this time that the countries with the strongest economies and military forces began to exploit those countries with weaker states. A result of this exploitation was the tendency of underdeveloped states or colonies to move more towards the production of one type of export that would then come to dominate their land, territory and lifestyle economy. Some examples of the time include Brazil's coffee production and Cuba's cigar production.

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