Sociology 2:
Class 14: World Polity Theory
Copyright © 2010 by Evan
Schofer
Do not copy or distribute without
permission
Announcements
• Announcements:
• Exams graded
• Will be returned in section next week
• Today’s Class:
• Wrap up World-System Theory (WST)
– Also called “dependency” theory
• World Polity Theory (WPT)
– Also called “Neo-institutional” theory “institutional” theory, or
“world society theory”
Review: Theories of Globalization
• General perspectives on the economy
• Adam Smith
• Marx
• Keynesianism
• Sociological theories
• Modernization theory
• World Systems Theory (WST) / dependency theory
• World polity theory (WPT) / institutional theory
• Political Science
• Realism
• Institutionalism (Political science) / Interdependence
• Constructivism.
Review: Modernization Theory
• Argument: All societies naturally pass through
certain stages of development
• All societies start out as “traditional” economies
– Based on subsistence farming, hunting/gathering, etc
• Then, they have an “industrial revolution”
• Eventually, they become “modern” high-tech societies
• Modernization involved multiple shifts:
• Economy: Shift to higher levels of industrialization
• Institutions: Rise of modern government, legal systems,
education systems, etc.
• People: Creation of “modern” persons
– Shift away from “traditional values”, toward science, etc…
Review: Modernization Theory
• Criticisms:
– 1. It is very “Eurocentric” / Western-centric
• Assumes that the West represents the ideal
• De-values other societies, cultural traditions
– 2. Modernization theory focuses on a single
country, ignores global dynamics
• Assumes that success/failure is due to internal factors
– Rather than relation to others: domination & competition
– 3. Modernization theory is unable to explain the
persistent poverty found in many countries.
Review: World-System Theory (WST)
• Key Definitions:
• Core: the rich, developed countries
• Also: west; metropolitan countries; developed world
• Periphery: poor, dependent nations
• Also: underdeveloped countries; satellites;
dependencies
• Semi-periphery: semi-industrialized countries
• Dependency: The vulnerable state of being
exploited by core countries
• They depend on the core for trade, investment, loans,
technology, etc. (related term: underdevelopment).
Review: World-System Theory (WST)
• World-System Theory: We need to study the entire
global economy as a world system
• We can’t understand the fate of a single country, without
understanding how it fits into the overall system
• Countries are rich or poor because of their position relative to
others in the global capitalist system.
• Argument: Europe (the “core) was able to prosper
by exploiting resources from other places
• The great success of Europe and the failures in the non-West
weren’t just a coincidence…
• Europe became wealthy by maintaining economic & military
dominance over other nations
• Exploited nations will never “modernize” as long as they are
oppressed by Western nations.
Review: World-System Theory (WST)
• Question: How does WST differ from other
analysis of economic globalization?
• Both agree that economics = important
– But, economists often view the world economy
positively (or neutrally)
• Ex: Ricardo thought trade was overall beneficial
• Ex: Many economists think globalization reduces
poverty compared to a world without trade
• WST argues that globalization perpetuates inequality.
Review: World-System Theory (WST)
• In contrast, WST argues that the global
economic system is inherently unfair
• Economic power of core countries and MNCs is so
great that the periphery will always be exploited
• The idea that governments and international
institutions can make the system “fair” is an illusion
– Governments and international institutions (e.g., the WTO)
will always reflect interests of capitalists
– Therefore, WST scholars are pessimistic about the role of
global governance in solving social problems…
– Consequently, the system must be substantially
reorganized… or overthrown.
Review: World-System Theory (WST)
• How does WST view international
organizations?
• Answer: They do not affect the fundamental
economic positions of core and periphery
• Claim: Most IGOs and INGOs are created by core
countries, and will never fundamentally undermine the
dominance of the core
– IGOs and INGOs tend to perpetuate core dominance
– Example: WTO has not given big concessions to periphery
• The only thing that could help would be organizations
representing the peripheral countries against the core!
World-System Theory (WST)
• Question: Is world-system theory “right”?
• WST makes many claims. There is no simple answer
• 1. Analysis of Latin America is generally
thought to be compelling
• 2. Rapid industrialization of South Korea,
Taiwan, etc = major exceptions to WST
• 3. Evidence on foreign/trade investment =
mixed, but often contradict WST
• Some studies find effects consistent with WST, but
many do not.
World-System Theory (WST)
• Criticisms of WST:
• 1. Research findings are mixed at best
• The specific WST predictions about sources of global
inequality/poverty have often been wrong
• It is true that there is horrible poverty in the world…
– But: Are people worse off than if there was no global
economy? That is less clear.
World-System Theory (WST)
• 2. WST doesn’t make clear predictions
• After the fact, almost any action can be interpreted as
“serving the interests of global capitalists”
– Example: The Montreal Protocol on CFC
emissions
• An environmental treaty addressing pollution…
• First, the core didn’t sign it… WST scholars said:
“See, the core is using its power to avoid the treaty!”
• Later, when the core signed it, WST scholars said:
“See, the core has ensnared the peripheral countries
in a treaty that will keep them in poverty”
– A theory that can fit any evidence is not so useful.
World-System Theory (WST)
• 3. Reverse causality
– WST argues: Countries that are dependent on
the core of the world capitalist system will be
trapped into a state of underdevelopment
– BUT, maybe it works the other way around
• Poverty produced “dependent” relations in the first
place
• Poor countries can’t produce high-tech goods, so they
trade commodities (e.g., bananas)
• But, this doesn’t necessarily mean that trading
bananas made those countries poorer or “trapped”
them into poverty.
World Polity Theory (WPT)
• A very different theory of the global system…
• Emphasizes culture, not economy
• World Polity 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 Polity Theory argues that this conformity reflects
the existence of a common global culture…
– Which shapes how elites set up their governments, societies.
World Polity Theory (WPT)
• Question: Why do people vote?
• Let’s think about individuals, rather than states
• Conventional Answer: They want to maximize
their power and interests…
– Realism is an “interest-based” theory of action
• 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 Polity Theory (WPT)
• 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 Polity Theory (WPT)
• 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 Polity Theory (WPT)
• 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 2 oxen and ask their
father’s permission to marry
• People in a common culture generally follow similar
scripts.
World Polity Theory (WPT)
• 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 Polity Theory (WPT)
• 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 Polity Theory (WPT)
• Question: Is it possible that there is (or is
becoming) a globally shared culture that
influences the governments of the world?
• Are there common cognitive maps that they use to
design their schools? Their societies?
• If so, where might those common norms and models
come from?
World Polity Theory (WPT)
• Polity = associations and activities of the
public/political sphere
• Example: Alexis de Toqueville studied the
American polity in the 19th century
• He didn’t just examine the state… he also examined
associational life (NGOs) and American culture
• He observed: The American state was weak (at the
time); associational life shaped politics and society.
World Polity Theory (WPT)
• The World Polity = political structures,
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 Polity Theory
• World Polity Theory developed in response
to modernization theory, WST, and realism
• Modernization theory predicted that poor, agricultural
societies would be different from “modern” ones
• Example: Agricultural societies should have different
educational systems (e.g., focused on farming)
• Example: WST predicts that governments of
peripheral countries would mainly address commodity
production.
World Polity Theory
• Key observation: Societies were rapidly
becoming more similar in terms of
government and policies
– Called “isomorphism”
• Ex: 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…
World Polity Theory (WPT)
• Question: Why did poor agricultural
countries adopt the same kinds of policies as
rich ones?
• Central Claim: Features of the state derive from
“worldwide models, constructed and propagated
through global cultural and associational processes”
• Meyer et al., p. 84
World Polity Theory (WPT)
• Key Claim: WPT suggests that states govern
on the basis of cognitive models
• Cognitive models come from the culture and society
around them:
• Associations, IGOs, NGOs, and other states make up a
“world society” or “world polity”
– 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.
Trends in Environmental Protection
Source: Frank et al. 2000
World Polity Theory (WPT)
• The (partial) success of global
environmentalism is seen as evidence in
support of WPT
• Nations appear to conform to new global “norms”
• “Interest-based” theories (WST & realism) have more
difficulty explaining global environmentalism.
World Polity Theory (WPT)
• How does WPT view international
organizations?
• They play a key role: sustaining and promulgating a
common culture to nations around the world
• Greenpeace, UNEP, and other international
organizations convey norms about what nations
should do to protect the environment
– Note: International organizations don’t have
“power”. They can’t force states to do anything
• Nor does every single country obey the norms
• But, over time norms have a major effect on behavior.
World Polity Theory (WPT)
• “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., p. 88
• Island example: What if a new territory were
discovered?
• How would IGOs, INGOs, & global culture reshape it?
World Polity Theory (WPT)
• WPT represents a “corrective”, emphasizing
the influence of norms and culture – not
power
– “the social sciences are reluctant to
acknowledge patterns of influence and
conformity that cannot be explained solely as
matters of power or functional rationality.”
• (Meyer et al. p. 84).
World Polity Theory (WPT)
• Issue: Is World Polity Theory “right”?
• World polity theory is a new theory
• Controversial, but growing fast…
– 1. World Polity research on isomorphism in
government policy is considered compelling
• World polity research now dominates in some areas
– Evolutions of education systems around the world
– Understanding the success of the environmental movement
– Also, lots of work on trends regarding human rights
– 2. World Polity Theorists were first to realize the
importance of INGOs in driving social change
• Other perspectives tended to ignore them…
World Polity Theory (WPT)
• Issue: Is World Polity Theory “right”?
– 3. The ideas behind WPT have garnered
support in other areas
– Called “neo-institutional theory”
• Especially the study of organizations
• This suggests potential… so people are working to
apply its ideas to global issues.
World Polity Theory (WPT)
• Criticisms of World Polity Theory
• 1. It doesn’t address power
• This is intentional: WPT represents a “corrective”,
emphasizing the influence of norms and culture
– “the social sciences are reluctant to acknowledge patterns of
influence and conformity that cannot be explained solely as
matters of power or functional rationality.”
• But, colonial relations were historically important in
defining Western ideas as the dominant ‘world’ culture
• Also, current global trends reflect US hegemony
– WPT scholars point out that US doesn’t always benefit (e.g.,
when countries conform to US models of education)
– But, still it seems like power may be important.
World Polity Theory (WPT)
• Criticisms of World Polity Theory
• 2. It doesn’t sufficiently address actors or
“agency”
• Again, this is an intentional goal of the theory… which
has come under criticism
• Theory implies we are all controlled by a wider culture
– Builds on Durkheim’s ideas of ‘collective consciousness’
• Where is room for agency? How can it explain
variability in the world?
World Polity Theory (WPT)
• Criticisms of WPT:
• 3. WPT explains government policies… but
not life “on the ground”
• Conformity to world culture may be strategic (to garner
foreign aid) or very “thin”
• Ex: China may pretend to conform to global norms…
but in fact that is just a façade
– Interests, rather than culture are really driving behavior.
• WPT scholars have begun responding to this
criticism… but the issue is still being debated…
World Polity Theory (WPT)
• Bottom line:
• WPT is a fascinating theory – offers a whole
new lens to view the world
• A very useful lens that explains some things that other
theories can’t
• Also very useful for understanding organizations…
– May be helpful if you start working for a big company
– But, people interested in power/inequality find it
very frustrating
– It doesn’t directly address the issues they care most about
• Plus, it is a newer perspective… more evidence
needed to fully evaluate it.