Table of Contents
Definition of Core Nations
(noun) In world systems theory, a powerful industrial nation that dominates the global economic and political system.
Examples of Core Nations
Note: Based on research by Babones (2005).
Core Nations Pronunciation
Syllabification: core na·tions
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /kOR nAY-shuhnz/
- British English – /kAW nAY-shuhnz/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /kɔr ˈneɪʃənz/
- British English – /kɔː ˈneɪʃənz/
Usage Notes
- Singular: core nations
- Immanuel Wallerstein (born 1930), a key theorist in world-systems theory developed the typology of core nations, semiperipheral nations, and peripheral nations.
Related Quotation
- “Transitions from the semiperiphery to the core have historically been rare, and have largely driven by chance (e.g., the discovery of oil) or massive transfers (e.g., membership in the EU). Neither mechanism can be relied upon to drive policy in the poorer countries of the world more broadly . . . Keeping in mind that the vast majority of the world’s population lives in the periphery of the world-economy, it would not be an unworthy goal to focus on ways to help peripheral countries attain semiperipheral income levels. While the current research gives no guidance on how to accomplish this goal, it does suggest that such a goal might be productively pursued” (Babones 2005:53).
Additional Information
- World-systems Research Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “core” and “nation” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
Related Terms
- capitalism
- dependency theory
- economic
- global perspective
- globalization
- peripheral nations
- poverty
- power
- semi-peripheral nations
- world-systems theory
Reference
Babones, Salvatore J. 2005. “The Country-level Income Structure of the World-economy.” Journal of World-Systems Research 11(1):29–55. doi:10.5195/jwsr.2005.392.
Works Consulted
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Stolley, Kathy S. 2005. The Basics of Sociology. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
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Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).
Cite the Definition of Core Nations
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “core nations.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved April 25, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/core-nations/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
core nations. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/core-nations/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “core nations.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed April 25, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/core-nations/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“core nations.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 25 Apr. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/core-nations/>.