Sociology 2:
Class 14: World System
Theory & World Society Theory
Copyright © 2014 by Evan
Schofer
Do not copy or distribute without
permission
Announcements
• Announcements:
• Midterm grading still underway
• Today s Class:
• More theories of globalization
World-System Theory
• World-System theory explains the failure of
many countries to develop
• Today’s poor countries face huge
disadvantages compared to Europe
– 1. They have a very different history: colonization
• Conquered by Europe
• Not allowed to develop governments, schools, industry
• Colonial rulers stripped local resources
– 2. Now, they must compete with rich countries in
global markets
• Former colonies remain at a big disadvantage
– Don’t have industry to compete in global trade.
World-System Theory
• World-System theorists criticize the idea that
trade is “win/win”
• Classical economic theory (Ricardo) predicts win/win
• If you grown bananas efficiently, focus on that…
– Criticism #1: Specialization in low-tech
production  short-term profit but long-run costs
• Low tech specialization  countries fail to develop
industry and technology that could lead to greater
profits in the future
• See Rodrik: Poor Countries in a Rich World
– Argument: In the long run, countries would be better off
developing high-tech industry, rather than growing
bananas…
World-System Theory
• World-System theorists criticize the idea that
trade is “win/win”
– Criticism #2: trade relations are asymmetric
• Rich countries don’t need coffee badly
– And, they can buy them from many sources
• But, poor countries critically depend on trade to get
technology & machinery to develop their economies
– So, poor countries are dependent on rich
• The rich countries have all the leverage in global
trade…
World-System Theory
• World-system theorists also criticize foreign
direct investment & capital flows
• Which free-market economists think is a good thing
– 1. Core countries extract profits from periphery
– Profits don’t stay in poor countries
– 2. Foreign investment don’t benefit locals
– Foreigners build plantations and mines to extract resources
– Ex: roads & rail lines just connect mines & ports
» Not useful to the people who actually live there!
– 3. Risk of currency/debt crises…
World-System Theory
• More concepts:
• Trade concentration: When a peripheral
country trades with few (or one) country
• Investment concentration: When foreign
investment comes from a few (or one) country
• High concentration may make peripheral
countries “dependent”
• If the core country decides to halt trade or investment,
economic disaster would follow
– Peripheral countries must please core trading partners
– They lose autonomy to do what is best for their people
Investment Concentration
Country
Concentration (%) Partner
Honduras
97.7
U.S.
Swaziland
96.6
Britain
Niger
95.7
France
Chile
91.3
U.S.
Saudi Arabia
90.4
U.S.
Tanzania
48.1
Britain
Iraq
37.5
Britain
Brazil
35.6
U.S.
Source: Kentor and Boswell 2003
World-System Theory
• What should peripheral nations do?
– According to world-system scholars?
• 1. Peripheral countries must avoid exploitive
economic relations with the core
• Beware of trade and foreign investment, which can
lead to exploitation and foreign control
• 2. Try to nurture domestic industries
• Don’t sell coffee and rely on others for high-tech
• Try to develop advanced industries locally
• Concept: Import substitution – developing local
industries to avoid importing products.
World-System Theory
• What should peripheral nations do?
– According to world-system scholars?
• 3. Band together with other poor nations to
fight against the power of the Core…
• Trade with each other
– Perhaps create cartels to bargain with the Core
• And some argue: start a global anti-capitalist
revolution.
World-System Theory
• Question: Is world-system theory right ?
• W-sys is a big-T theory. There is no simple answer
• 1. Analysis of Latin America is generally
thought to be compelling
• 2. Rapid industrialization in Asia (S. Korea,
Taiwan, etc) is a major exception to w-sys
• 3. Evidence on foreign/trade investment =
mixed, often contradicts world-system theory
• Some studies find effects consistent with w-sys
– See examples in Rodrik (“Poor Countries in a Rich World”)
• But, many do not.
World-System Theory
• My advice: World-system theory is a useful
theory that has some predictive power
• Rodrik highlights some key predictions…
• BUT: don’t become a conspiracy theorist
• It is easy to spin a story of “core country power” to
explain any set of events
• Better to make specific predictions that can be tested
with evidence…
World Society Theory
• A very different theory of the global system…
• Emphasizes culture, not economy
• Also called world polity theory ; a kind of institutional
theory (NOT Interdependence/Institutionalism )
• World Society Theory was also a response to
modernization theory
• The expectation that countries will march through
stages of development…
• Key observation: While countries differ a lot in their
level of development, many aspects of their
governments look quite similar…
• World Society Theory argues that this conformity
reflects the existence of a common global culture…
– Which shapes how elites set up their governments, societies.
– World Society = organizations, associations, &
culture in the international sphere
• Observation: There is no strong world state
• Rather, there are associations (IGOs, NGOs)
– Observation: Participants in the international
system share a common culture
• IGOs and NGOs are typically run by people educated
in Western-style tradition, believe in common things
• Example: Democracy, economic growth, education,
etc.
World Society Theory
• Digression: Thinking about culture and action
• Question: Why do people vote?
• Let s think about individuals, rather than states
• Conventional Answer: They want to maximize
their interests…
• Thus, they go and vote for candidates that will enact
favorable policies
• Is that what is going on in people s heads?
• Do they really think: Heh, heh, heh… I ll be rich! ?
• In fact, a single vote rarely matters… why do people
bother?
World Society Theory
• One alternative to interest-based action:
• Action is governed by culture and social norms
• A very different view: People vote because
they are supposed to …
• We live in a society in which voting is highly valued
• Example: Some of the biggest predictors of voting
include: whether friends or parents vote
– If you are surrounded by voters (and pro-voting norms) you
are more likely to vote.
World Society Theory
• How does culture affect us?
• 1. By providing norms
• Norms indicate proper behavior in a given situation
• You could come to class wearing scuba gear… but
norms discourage it.
• In fact, we rarely consider actions that are against
norms.
World Society Theory
• 2. By providing scripts
• Scripts are taken-for-granted recipes for behavior
that we share and understand
• Example: If you are interested in courting someone,
you ask them on a date
– You do not show up at their house with a dowry gift and ask
their father s permission to marry
• People in a common culture generally follow similar
scripts.
World Society Theory
• 3. By providing cognitive models
• Cognitive models or maps are mental
frameworks or blueprints that people share
• Example: Suppose you were chosen to set up a new
school… How would you design it?
• How many grades? What subjects? How big would
classes be? When would the school year be?
World Society Theory
• Note: Most ideas are drawn from a familiar
model of the school
• Would you teach by apprenticeship? Keep boys and
girls separate? Teach classes on astrology?
Probably not!
– In the language of social psychology: We all
possess a similar cognitive model or map of
a school
• It is that which we take for granted .
World Society Theory
• What do theories predict about schools?
– Modernization theory predicted that poor,
agricultural societies would be different from
modern ones
• Example: Agricultural societies should have schools
focused on farming/agriculture
– World system theory predicts that peripheral
economies are subordinated by core countries
• Schools should be organized to produce workers;
more efficient capitalist exploitation
– World society theory predicts that schools will be
similar everywhere
• The result of a common global culture
World Society Theory
• Key observation: Over the past 50 years
societies have become more similar in terms
of government and policies
• Called isomorphism
• Ex: Poor agricultural countries DIDN T create
different educational systems
– They adopted systems similar to rich Western countries
• Ex: Countries also adopted similar legal systems,
population and health policies, environmental laws,
etc…
– The kind of policies everyone is supposed to have
World Society Theory
• World Society Theory suggests that states
govern on the basis of cognitive models
• Cognitive models come from world society
• Associations, IGOs, NGOs, and other states essentially
define appropriate behavior for governments
– IGOs and NGOs convey models of how to govern
• Example: World bank conveys models of economic
governance; UNESCO suggests educational advice;
Amnesty International suggests human rights policies.
World Society Theory
• Worldwide models… define appropriate
constitutions, goals, organization charts,
ministry structures, and policies… Nationstates are imagined communities drawing on
models that are lodged at the world level.
• Meyer et al. 1997
• Island example: What if a new territory were
discovered?
• How would IGOs, INGOs, & global culture reshape it?
Trends in Environmental Protection
Source: Frank et al. 2000
World Society Theory
• The (partial) success of global
environmentalism is seen as evidence in
support of World Society Theory
• Nations appear to conform to new global norms
• Interest-based theories (world-system theory &
realism) have more difficulty explaining global
environmentalism.