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world-systems theory

Definition of World-systems Theory

(noun) Theory asserting that most nations are part of a worldwide interdependent economic and political system based on the unequal exchange in the division of labor and allocation of resources between core nationssemi-peripheral nations, and peripheral nations.

Example of World-systems Theory

World-systems Theory Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: world sys·tems the·o·ry

Audio Pronunciation

– American English
– British English

Phonetic Spelling

  • American English – /wUHRld-sIs-tuhmz thEE-uhr-ree/
  • British English – /wuhrld-sIs-timz thIUH-ree/

International Phonetic Alphabet

  • American English – /wɜrld-ˈsɪstəmz ˈθiəri/
  • British English – /wɜːld-ˈsɪstɪmz ˈθɪəri/

Usage Notes

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Additional Information

Related Terms


References

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

Andersen, Margaret L., and Howard Francis Taylor. 2011. Sociology: The Essentials. 6th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Brinkerhoff, David, Lynn White, Suzanne Ortega, and Rose Weitz. 2011. Essentials of Sociology. 8th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Brym, Robert J., and John Lie. 2007. Sociology: Your Compass for a New World. 3rd ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Ferrante, Joan. 2011. Seeing Sociology: An Introduction. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Henslin, James M. 2012. Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach. 10th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Kendall, Diana. 2011. Sociology in Our Times. 8th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Kornblum, William. 2008. Sociology in a Changing World. 8th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Macionis, John, and Kenneth Plummer. 2012. Sociology: A Global Introduction. 4th ed. Harlow, England: Pearson Education.

Marsh, Ian, and Mike Keating, eds. 2006. Sociology: Making Sense of Society. 3rd ed. Harlow, England: Pearson Education.

Stewart, Paul, and Johan Zaaiman, eds. 2015. Sociology: A Concise South African Introduction. Cape Town: Juta.

Stolley, Kathy S. 2005. The Basics of Sociology. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

Thompson, William E., and Joseph V. Hickey. 2012. Society in Focus: An Introduction to Sociology. 7th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).

Cite the Definition of World-system

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “world-systems theory.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved March 28, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/world-systems-theory/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

world-systems theory. (2014). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/world-systems-theory/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “world-systems theory.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed March 28, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/world-systems-theory/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“world-systems theory.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2014. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/world-systems/>.