Table of Contents
Definition of Peripheral Nations
(noun) In world systems theory, poor nations that have limited industrialization and uneven distribution of urbanization, that are exploited by core nations and semi-peripheral nations for their raw materials and inexpensive labor.
Examples of Peripheral Nations
Note: Based on research by Babones (2005).
Peripheral Nations Pronunciation
Syllabification: pe·riph·er·al na·tions
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /puhr-rIf-uhr-ruhl nAY-shuhnz/
- British English – /puh-rIf-uh-ruhl nAY-shuhnz/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /pəˈrɪfərəl ˈneɪʃənz/
- British English – /pəˈrɪfərəl ˈneɪʃənz/
Usage Notes
- Singular: peripheral nation
- Immanuel Wallerstein (born 1930), a key theorist in world-systems theory developed the typology of core nations, semi-peripheral nations, and peripheral nations.
- Peripheral nations are economically poor and primarily agricultural, the exploitation from core nations and semi-peripheral nations limits development and thus perpetuates their poverty.
- Also called: “the periphery“
Additional Information
- World-systems Research Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “peripheral” and “nations” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
Related Terms
- capitalism
- core nations
- dependency theory
- economic
- global perspective
- globalization
- 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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Macionis, John, and Kenneth Plummer. 2012. Sociology: A Global Introduction. 4th ed. Harlow, England: Pearson Education.
OpenStax College. 2014. Introduction to Sociology.
Stolley, Kathy S. 2005. The Basics of Sociology. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
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Cite the Definition of Peripheral Nations
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “peripheral nations.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved April 19, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/peripheral-nations/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
peripheral nations. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/peripheral-nations/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “peripheral nations.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed April 19, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/peripheral-nations/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“peripheral nations.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/peripheral-nations/>.