Immanuel wallerstein biography of michael jackson

1. Immanuel Wallerstein: Founder of World-Systems Analysis
2. World-Systems Theory
3. Key Concepts

Immanuel Wallerstein: Founder of World-Systems Analysis

Immanuel Wallerstein, an American thinker, is recognized as the founder of world-systems analysis and a leader in contemporary radical social science. He was born on September 28, 1930, in New York. Wallerstein pursued his studies in sociology at Columbia University, earning his bachelor's degree in 1951, master's degree in 1954, and doctorate in 1959. He has worked at various universities, including Columbia University (1958-1971), McGill University (1971-1976), Binghamton University (1976-1999), and Yale University (since 2000).

In 1976, Wallerstein established the Fernand Braudel Center for the Study of Economies, Historical Systems, and Civilizations at Binghamton University. The center's researchers actively engage in the development and promotion of the world-systems approach. From 1994 to 1998, Wallerstein served as the president of the International Sociological Association.

World-Systems Theory

Wallerstein began his academic career as a sociologist focused on Africa, but in the 1960s, he started exploring the general theory of socio-economic development. His world-systems theory, based on the principles of comprehensive historical analysis proposed by French historian Fernand Braudel, synthesizes sociological, historical, and economic approaches to social evolution.

Wallerstein is known for his extensive body of work, with over 20 books and more than 300 articles published. His major work is the multi-volume series "The Modern World-System," in which he examines the genesis and development of the European world economy in the 16th century (volume 1, 1974), its evolution during the mercantilist period (volume 2, 1980), and its history until the 1840s (volume 3, 1989). In his other works, Wallerstein analyzes the evolution of the capitalist world economy in the 19th and 20th centuries, and even provides predictions for the 21st century.

Key Concepts

Central to Wallerstein's conceptual framework is the idea of a world-economy, a system of international relations based on trade. Apart from world-economies, different countries can form world-empires, characterized by political unity rather than economic integration. Wallerstein views history as the development of various regional world-systems (world-economies and world-empires) that competed with each other until the European (capitalist) world-economy became overwhelmingly dominant. This challenges traditional approaches to history based on formations and civilizations, offering a new, third paradigm for understanding social development.

According to Wallerstein, capitalism emerged in the 16th century when world-empires in Western Europe were replaced by the trade-based world-economy. The capitalist world-economy led to the colonial expansion of Western European countries, suppressing other world-economies and world-empires by the 19th century, leaving it as the sole modern world-system. Wallerstein argues that all countries within the capitalist world-economy are synchronized by the "long waves" of Kondratieff cycles.

Wallerstein's theory highlights the core-periphery division within the capitalist world-economy. Countries in the European civilization, forming the core, play a leading role in the world-system's economic development. Non-European countries, except for a few exceptions, make up the periphery and are economically and politically dependent. Wallerstein attributes the backwardness of peripheral countries to deliberate policies imposed by core countries, which impose an economic specialization that maintains the dominance of developed nations. Despite the ideology of "free trade" propagated by developed countries, Wallerstein argues that capitalism is fundamentally anti-market, as core countries monopolize their privileged position and use force to protect it. However, in the 20th century, the boundary between the core and periphery has partially blurred due to the active attempts of previously backward countries (such as Japan) to enter the circle of active participants in the global economy.

Wallerstein's stance on the underdevelopment of the "Third World," placing the primary blame on the developed Western countries, continues the tradition of Marxist theories of imperialism. His approach to explaining history has gained immense popularity among radical economists in both developed and developing countries. The strong anti-American sentiment within Wallerstein's ideas resonates particularly well with his followers.

While Wallerstein's ideas have been met with criticism by many social scientists, his world-systems theory has had a significant influence on the growth of interest in history as a global process and has contributed to the emergence of historical global studies.