Semi-periphery countries
industrializing countries which are positioned between the periphery and core countries
In world-systems theory, semi-periphery countries are the industrializing, mostly capitalist countries that are positioned between the periphery and the core countries. Semi-periphery countries have organizational characteristics of both core countries and periphery countries and are often geographically located between core and peripheral regions as well as between two or more competing core regions.
Semi-periphery regions play a major role in mediating economic, political, and social activities that link core and peripheral areas. These regions allow for the possibility of innovative technology, reforms in social and organizational structure, and dominance over peripheral nations. These changes can lead to a semi-periphery country being promoted to a core nation. Semi-periphery is, however, more than a description, as it also serves as a position within the world hierarchy in which social and economic change can be interpreted.
World-systems theory describes the semi-periphery as a key structural element in the world economy. The semi-periphery plays a vital role comparable to that of the role that Spain and Portugal played in the 17th and the 18th centuries as intermediate trading groups within the early modern European commercial system.
Today, the semi-periphery is generally industrialized. Semi-peripheral countries contribute to the manufacturing and exportation of a variety of goods.
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This entry incorporates text from “Semi-periphery countries” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.