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Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology

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The World Systems Theory was articulated in large part by Immanuel Wallerstein, who argued that in economics there are three types of economic nations - the core, the semi-periphery, and the periphery. The core consists of those nations which are dominate and have a dominant economic relationship with the semi-periphery and periphery. The periphery consists of those nations who are being dominated. In between these two is the semi-periphery, in which nations are included who both have dominating economic relationships with the periphery and less dominant ones with the core.

It is important for us to try to understand how European capitalism becomes the core of this system - that is, how did the system of the periphery providing raw materials and the core manufacturing them into finished goods come about?

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Ian's comments?

Was the world system opperating in the period "before European Hegemony"? Is it a useful model for thinking about the Muslim world and its interconnections? What might serve as the core and the periphery with respect to a world dominated by Muslim polities?