Semi-periphery countries

In world-systems theory, semi-periphery countries are the industrializing, mostly capitalist countries that are positioned between the periphery and the core countries. Semi-periphery countries have organizational characteristics of both core countries and periphery countries and are often geographically located between core and peripheral regions as well as between two or more competing core regions. Semi-periphery regions play a major role in mediating economic, political, and social activities that link core and peripheral areas. These regions allow for the possibility of innovative technology, reforms in social and organizational structure, and dominance over peripheral nations. These changes can lead to a semi-periphery country being promoted to a core nation. Semi-periphery is, however, more than a description, as it also serves as a position within the world hierarchy in which social and economic change can be interpreted. World-systems theory describes the semi-periphery as a key structural element in the world economy. The semi-periphery plays a vital role comparable to that of the role that Spain and Portugal played in the 17th and the 18th centuries as intermediate trading groups within the early modern European commercial system. Today, the semi-periphery is generally industrialized. Semi-peripheral countries contribute to the manufacturing and exportation of a variety of goods. They are marked by above average land mass, as exemplified by Argentina, China, India, Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, and Iran. More land mass typically means an increased market size and share. Semi-peripheral nations are not all large, however, as smaller countries such as Israel, Poland, and Greece can be described to exist within the semi-periphery.

Sociological theory Semi-peripheral countries offer their citizens relatively diverse economic opportunities but also have extreme gaps between the rich and poor. World-system theorists originally used only two categories: periphery countries and core countries. A need for an intermediate category became quickly apparent and led to the establishment of the semi-periphery category for societies that have moved away from the periphery but have not become core. In other words, the category describes societies that remain dependent and to some extent underdeveloped although they have achieved significant levels of industrialization. Semi-peripheral countries are tied into dynamic world systems that focus on the reliance of poor nations upon the wealthy, a concept known as the dependency theory. The term semi-periphery has been applied to countries that existed as early as in the 13th century. In theory, the creation of a semi-periphery category has added sociological and historical layers to previous developmental theories but still has similar, inherently capitalist, foundations.

Function The semi-periphery is needed to stabilize the world system, as it facilitates interaction and provides a connection between the low-income peripheral states and the high-income core states by adding another step in the world system hierarchy. As the middle ground, semi-peripheral countries display characteristics of both the core and the periphery. They also serve as a political buffer zone in that while they are exploited, they are also the exploiters. Those areas have been core regions in the past or formerly-peripheral areas and have since advanced in the world economy. Semi-peripheral nations are a necessary structural element in a world-trade system since they can serve to alleviate the political pressures that the core can exert upon the periphery and the political unrest that the periphery can direct back at the core. On the other hand, the semi-periphery can find itself excluded from the region's politics, as it lies just outside the bounds of political arena of the core states. The semi-periphery exists because it needs to divide the economic power between the core and the periphery. Semi-periphery, referred to as the middle class by Wallerstein, is what makes the capitalist world function because it is much like the sociological structural functionalism theory, and norms, customs, traditions, and institutions act as "organs" that work toward the proper functioning of the "body" as a whole. Without those industrializing countries, change will never reach the periphery. In terms of their contribution to industry and economy, the contemporary semi-peripheral states are semi-industrialized. Semi-peripheral countries are major exporters of minerals and agricultural goods. They are often focused in the manufacturing and exportation of industrial goods and commodities. While those advances separate the semi-periphery from the periphery, they lack the power and the economic dominance of core nations and still have a lot of unmanaged poverty, which places them beneath the core. Semi-peripheral countries are important contributors to the world economy for those reasons and because they tend to have an above-average land mass and so they are host to an above average-market. A primary example is China, a country with not only a large area but also a large population.

History and development

13th century

This era of human history found the semi-periphery concentrated in the area stretching from the Middle East to China, including India and the Mongol Empire, and it was the first time in history that the peripheries and semi-peripheries of the world became connected and involved in the trade of the world both with cores and with each other. Through a lucrative trade system, including heavy taxing of goods traveling through their borders, they were able to maintain a steady stream of wealth, becoming the driving forces of economic change throughout this time period. In addition, a heavy emphasis on defense and border security, particularly among the Mongols, allowed them to be fairly impenetrable trade obstacles. Geography also played a role, as seen in India's development of an impressive maritime industry. Because of its position along a convenient route through the Indian Ocean, India established its role as a "hinge" between the East and the West. Through their positions within the world trade system, semi-peripheries in the Middle East became crucially important in connecting the cities of Chinese and Indian cores with the fledgling cities of Europe and served as key points between other, more major core cities in the region, such as Baghdad, Cairo, and Aden.

1300–1450

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