REVIEW 4

,I Theory Approaches

0 al-Qaeda we re neve r demon str ~ted the time give n the terror ist orgam~a­ ular strongmen like Sadd am Hu sse m. t Attacks upon the Unit ed Sta tes (~he ingly that it "fo und no 'c o llaborative da" (Pin cus and Milbank 2004). onsensual and leg itim at e norms and : disc ur sive de mo c racy in a publi c ·en publi c de libe ration can be po lluted ortant also to con sider the ro le of so- 1ing soc ial und e rstanding s. From fall :a de anti war voices chall e nged estab ­ conduc ting a "wa r on terrori sm." T his e on the or igina l de c ision to attack ,otent forc e in the bui ldup to the Ir aq tually re flected in the major it y of pub­ nistration not acted arbitrari ly to attack ;s force of the be tter argum e nt" co uld r words, the outco me wo uld have been

discussion of the issues.

odes for her researc h assis tance. . Id Woodward, "I don ' t ha ve th~ ev idence at utlet, the pundit L auri e Mylroie (2003) lef t

views. ngs o f Iraq di sarm amen t, d isc usse d below , ,

.i frankly is wron g." . ) cond ucted by Opi ni on D ynrum~s Co~ora­ ¼t69 percen t of respo nd ent s b eh ~v_ed Ir aq ,ly choices were yes, no , or no opi~ ion. on domest ic politi cs and do not di scuss the

,te~.. l'ke Amsterda m Bar ce lona, Berlin , r citie s i ,

)fthe frame's source ( Druckman 2~01)_. y diff icult for gove rnm ent s to mamtam se­ ged prewa r links betw ee n a1-9aeda and Iraq

but ap peared alm ost immedi ately o n a blog -~oadcast in g Corpora tion (ABC) News.

7 Historical Materialism

and World System Theo·ry Approaches

Historical Materialism and World System Theory Jennife r Sterling-Folker

As with crit ica l theor y, hi sto ri ca l ma te ri ali sm and wo rld sys te m theo ry (WST ) are neo -Ma rxian perspect ives . "Hi stori ca l materi ali sm" is a te rm drawn dir ec tly from the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, alth ough some of th is approac h 's IR adhe rents refer to it as " tran shi stor ica l mat er ia l­ ism" inste ad.' Within the discipline it is co nsidered a variant of crit ical the­ or y, and, as di sc ussed in C hap te r 6. 1, it shares w ith Hab e rma sian critical theor y the sam e episte mologi ca l commitments, as we ll as the same ema nc i­ patory goa ls. Yet histo ric al mat e ri a lism diffe rs dramatica lly from tha t branc h of critica l theo ry beca use it re ta ins the Mar xist emp has is on ca pita l­ ist eco nomics. Beca use this is also ce ntra l to WST , it is co mmon in IR for histor ical materia lism and WST to be di sc ussed together und er a gener ic "Mar xist" labe l.2

Prior to the end of the Cold War, Marx ist IR variant s wer e usuall y char­ acterized as th e third major theo retica l pe rspect ive in th e US di sc ipli ne, along w ith rea li sm and lib era lism. Yet Marxist thou ght was relat ivel y un­ derdeve loped in the ea rly disc ip lin e of IR in the Un ited States, a nd it was primari ly soc iologists co mmitt ed to interd isc ip linar y work who introdu ced WST into the di sc iplin e in the 1970 s. Histori ca l mater ialism ap peare d in the follow ing decad e and its pr imar y con trib uto rs were those no t from the hlnited States . Beca use historica l mate ri alism has a slight ly shorte r compar­ ative history within the dis c ipline, it is so metimes given short shrift in dis·­ ciplinary discu ssions of ne o-Marx ist IR, w hich te nd to assume tha t WST is its only repre se ntative. Certa inl y it is the case that the two perspective s re ly on and utilize a com mon se t of ass um ptions and c onc e pt s so th at their

217

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218 Historical Materialism and World System Theory App roaches

ana lyses may be co mp lementary, as the two chap te rs in thi sec tion demon­ s trate . Ye t imp ort ant d ifference s re main , a nd it is more appro pri ate to co n­ s ider his tori ca l mate ri a lism and wo rld sys te m theo ry to be broadly s imil ar but ultim ate ly alternative neo- Mar x ist ex planat io ns.

What the two pe rs pectives s h are is a se t of ass umpti o ns drawn from Marx ist thought that e mpha s izes eco no mi c c hange as the driving force o f wor ld po litics. On e of the mo s t fundamental co nce pts in thi s regard is the " mode of produ ction ," th at is, how hum a n labor is co ntr o lled to produce what is need ed for s ur viva l (Wa llers te in 1979: 155, 136) . Thi s " determine s the natur e of soc ial a nd political relation s w ith in politica l entiti es and amon g them," so that "w hen a new mod e of production de ve lop s, new c la sses a ri se, and a new c lass beco me s dominant" (Z a cher a nd Matthew 1995: 108). Altern ative mode s of production ex is ted throu gho ut history , but a numb e r of factors beg inn ing in the fiftee n th ce ntur y allowed \he cap italis t mod e to gradu ally displace all o thers. Bot h hi s to rica l mat eria lism and WST utili ze the co ncep t of a world cap italis t sys tem in referr ing to the contempo­ rar y g lo bal dominance of ca pitali s m , a nd bo th arg ue th at IR ca n on ly be sufficiently und e rs tood w ithin the context of thi s sys tem . Ca pit a lis m has produced notab le a spec ts of wo rld poli tics today, such as ongoing economic dispariti es among nati o n-s ta tes a nd the wi ll ingne ss of the eco nomi ca lly ad­ va ntaged to resort to viol ence, or exp lo itation by o ther mea ns, to maintain tho se adva ntages.

As a mode of pro duction ca pitali s m invo lves th ree bas ic e leme nts: mar­ ke t exc hanges, the po lit ica l and s ocia l e leva tion of those wit h ca pit al to in­ ves t in va ri ous ma rket ventur es, and the politica l and socia l sub ordination o f those w ho lab or to produce the goods in tho se ve ntu res. The capita list mod e of production co ncurr e ntl y produce s a n ideo logy that jus tifi es itself as appropriate and beneficial to all involved, eve n as it primarily serves the interest s of the d o minant , ca pit a lis t c lass. Thi s rulin g ideo logy o r socia l co nscious ness is s upp orte d by and rep lica ted in a ho st of politi cal, lega l, re­ lig io us, mora l, philo so ph ica l, and c ultural insti tut ions and soc ia l pra ctices. The se institution s and practice s co n stitute wh at the his to rica l materia list lit­ erai·ure refer s to as a " historic bloc," a nd the goa l of revealin g thi s bloc as a his torically s ituat e d soc ial co n s tru c t, rather th a n a uni ve rsa l immutable truth , is one th at his tor ica l ma te ri a li s m s h ares w ith c riti ca l theo ry and po s tmod e rni s m . [n co ntra s t to so me other IR theo ries, the n , the sove reign nati o n-sta te is not the ce ntr al unit of ana lys is in e ither of these pers pect ives, and as Pa ul Vio tti and Ma rk Kaup p i n o te, it become s s ignific ant o nly " from the ro le it play s in act ive ly aid ing o r hind er ing the capita lis t accumulation pro cess" ( 1999: 344) .

Whil e hi storical mater ialism and WST re tain the Marx ist ass umption that ca pit alis m lea ds inev itabl y to ex ploit atio n and cla ss stru gg le, they have also deve lo ped modifi ed v iews of c lass s truct ure tha t are more approp riate

219 rid System Fheory Approaches

1e two cha pters in thi s sec tion dem o n- 1in, and it is mor e appropr iat e to con­ d sys tem th eo ry to be broadly s imilar

L ex plan atio ns . ! is a se t of assumpt io ns drawn from ,nomic change as th e driving forc e of amental concepts in thi s regard is the human labor is controlled to produ ce ein 1979: 155, 136). Thi s " determine s elation s w ithin politi ca l e ntiti es and

1 mod e of production deve lops, new n es dominant " (Zacher and Matthew duction existed throu ghout hi s tory , but fifteenth century allowed the ca pitali st . Both hi sto rica l mat er ia lism and WST st system in referring to the contempo- 1, and both argue th a t lR ca n onl y be :ontext of thi s sys tem. Capitalism ha s ,litics today, such as ongo in g eco nomic he willin gness of the eco nomi ca lly ad­ ploitation by other mea n s, to maintain

ism involve s three ba sic elem en ts: mar­ al elevation o f tho se w ith capit al to in ­ I the politi cal and soc ial sub o rdi~ati?n ,oo ds in tho se ventur es . The captta h st '.oduces an id eo logy that ju s tifi es itself nvo lved , even as it primaril y se rves the t cl ass. Thi s rulin g id eo logy o r soc ial :plicated in a host of po liti~al, lega l.' re­ Jltu ra l in stitution s and so cial practtce s . ;titut e what the hi sto ri ca l mat e ri alis t lit ­ , and the goal of revea ling thi s blo c as a ict, rather than a uni versa l immut ab le

1alism s hares w ith c riti ca l th eo ry and ! ot her IR th eo ries, th e n , the sove reign · analy sis in e ither of these perspectives, note, it beco mes s ignificant on ly " from

ir hindering the cap italist acc umulation

nd WST re tain th e Marxi st as s umption xploitati o n and cla ss struggle, th ey h~ve :lass structur e th at ar e more appropnate

Histori cal Materi alism and World System Theory

to the s tud y of _IR . Although in debted to the wr it ings of Marx a nd Enge ls for man y o f their co re conc ept s, it was late r write rs in the Marx is t tradi tion s ue~ as John Hobso n, Rosa Lu xe m bo urg, Rudol f Hilferding , and Vlad imi; Lenin , who considered h ow ca pitali sm promot ed " imperi a lis m " in IR as a fo rm of tran snational ex ploit a tion . Imp e riali s m is endem ic to the capitalist world sys_tem , these author s arg ued, bec a use capitali st soc iet ies regu larl y face the dilemma of over produ c tio n of cap ital by the cap ital is t class and un­ de rcon s umpti on o f g?ods by _the lowe r c lasses (who ca nn o t affo rd to pur­ cha se th e m) . Thi s dil emma mdu ces cap ita list soc iet ies to seek mark ets abroad to re in ves t s urplu s ca pit a l and prom ote the bu y ing of s urplu s good s, yet the te rm s of int erac tion are never equ itab le. While resort ing to outrioht c_onquest re main s an o ption for ca pit a lis t socie ties, the n atur e of ex ploi~a­ '.10~ tra ns nat io nal all ia nces among ­ha s beco me m ore s ubtl e, involving cap itali st cla sses and a re liance on IFi s, such as th e IMF a nd the World Bank to enforce the inter es ts of wea lth y ca pit alis t soci et ies around the globe (G iti 1998, I 995).

. Im_per ial'.s ~ ca n a lso lead to interna tional ri va lry and co nfli ct among ca pitali st soc1et1es, as they co mp ete wit h o n e ano th er for dominance in a l­ ternativ e markets and reg ion s . Thi s o ngo ing impetus for balan ce-o f- po wer pol itics preve nt s the deve lopm e nt of a unified world s ta te or the return to wo rld empir es . It is po ss ible, howeve r, for a core s tate to emerge as a hege ­ mon that , for a ce rta in pe riod of time, can "es tablish the rule s of the gam e in th e inte rsta te system " ( Walle rs te in 2004: 5 8) . Sim ilar to the liberal va ri­ ant of hege monic s tabilit y th eo ry re feren ce d in Chapter 3 .1, histo rica l ma ­ terial ism and WST argue that a hege mon has the abi lity to impo se its eco­ nomic, politi ca l, and c ultural prefe re nces on the world sys tem. 3 Thi s a bility is cont inu a lly tax ed and re la ti ve ly s hort -li ved, howeve r, g iven co ns tant press ure from ongoing imper ialist riva lries. The se are the themes of Chap­ ter 7.2, in which Alan Cafr uny and Timoth y Lehmann a rg ue th at the US in ­ vas io n of Ir aq should be under s to od in th e co nte x t o f core s ta te r iva lry in the Middl e Ea s t. Dri ve n by imp er ial is t com pe ti t ion, th e Unit ed State s in­ vaded Iraq as a mean s to ex tend its hege moni c reach in the Midd le East and deny its rival s great er access to the reg ion.

Becau se the con cep t of imp er iali s m rema ins fundamental to both hi s ­ tor ical mat e ri a lis m and WST , these perspec tives are in te res ted in re lation s betwee n wea lth y ca pit a lis t s oci et ies and the res t of th e globe. Within th e di sc iplin e th e ir ana ly tica l pr edecesso r is depen d en cy theo ry, whi c h o rig i­ nated in the l960 s to exp la in wh y Latin Am e rica a nd ot her reg ions had no t developed as anticip ated .4 For all of the se theo ries, the exp lanat ion fo r the continu ed po ve rty of so m any of th e world's nati o n -s tates lies not in: pro cesses and c hoic es pur ely int e rn a l to nat io n- s tates an d th ei r s ocieties ?ut in th e pos itio n th ey occ upy w ithin the world capi tal is t economy. His tor ~ ica l mat e ria lis m and WST per spec tives also co nc ur that wor ld polit ic s is

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220 Histori cal Material ism and World System Theory Approaches

driven by capitali st eco nomic forces, and that '"econom ic ex plo itation is an integra l part of the capitali st sys tem and is required to keep it functioning·' (Yiotti and Kauppi 1999: 349) .

Whil e altern ative terms such as "Nort h" and "So uth " or "fi rst world" and "thi rd wor ld" ha ve been used in IR to indi cate the divis ion between rich and poor societies, WST has de ve loped a set of terms that is frequent ly used by scholars of both perspectives. The cap italist world syste m is sa id to consist of core, periphera l, and semi peripheral areas that differ acco rding to their modes o f labor co ntrol and what they spec ialize in prod uc ing. The core areas are the most advanced econom ica lly, and hence they are the most prosperou s and powerful. The peripheral areas prov ide unskil led labo r and raw mater ials to the core and are the poore st and weakes t. The semipe riph­ eral areas occup y a middle ground between the two and have a co mbination of econo mic, po litical, and soc ial attri butes from bot h of the other areas. Thi s international division of labor derive s from the cease less acc umulation of capita l and esse ntially divid es and con quers class interes ts and structures both within and across nation-states. The original Mar x ist formul ation o f a co mmon interest within relatively separate classes, as wel l as the inevitabi l­ ity of con flict between these classes and the potential for revol ution among the worki ng class specifi ca lly, have been co nsiderably modifi ed by these perspectives as a res ult.5

Yet both historica l materiali sm and WST retain a belief in the poss ibil­ ity of radical change and the even tual demise o f the cap italist world order. Marx and Engels had argued that the mode of produ ction that dom inates in eac h period of history, and that hierarchically arrang es its re leva nt classes, also ca rrie s the seeds of its own demise. Classes are al ways arranged di­ alectica lly, so that contradi ctions and tensions are inherent to their relation­ ship , and from thei r inevitabl e clash new eco nomic orders emerge. It is a matt er of time, therefore , befo re the capit alist mode of produ ction and the world eco nomy it has spawned will be rep laced. Histor ica l mate rialists and wor ld sys tem theoris ts subscribe to this general view of the futur e, yet each has made considerab le ana lytical modifi cation s to it so that the possibilities of change within and of the world capit al ist sys tem are mor e open -ended, varied in content, and less deterministic. It is also at this junctu re that clear differe nces beg in to eme rge between these two pers pec tives, s ince histori­ cal materiali sts subscribe to critica l theory's goal of emancipatory practice in a way that world system theori sts do not.

As a variant of critical theory, historica l materia l ism is co nce rned with uncovering historica lly situated truth claims to rev ea l th eir embedded power and promot e ema nci pation from them. Unlike Habe rma sian critical theo ry, however, it is not a direct ana lytica l desce ndant of the Frankfurt Schoo l. In fact , in his ove rview of these two var iants, Richard Wy n Jones obse rves that Antonio Gram sc i, the Italian Mar xist, is just as impor tant a

writer t Theodor ars" (2001 ca l theori sometime: the conce ness and how g lob which is "global gc between tively obs state and omy, his separatio serious an

From lition, tha obstacle t and social more equi rorical ma ciety, and can sounc: materialis cal mover ductio n." ments anc world eco

This < political c wh ich ren of the con the praxis the chang, other wo, changes s era! to co1 and contr; variation discount 1 world-sys that histo

·Id System Theory Approaches

and th at "e co nomi c e xpl o itation is an ,nd is requir e d to keep it functionin g"

" North" and "South" or " fir s t world '.

1 IR to indicat e the divi s ion be tween eloped a set of term s th at is fr~qu~ntl y . Th e capitali st world syste m 1s said to ,eripheral area s that differ acc~rding to ,at they specialize in producing. Th e nomically , and he nc e the y are the mo st

ieral area s provide un skill e d labor and poorest and weake st. Th e semiperi~h ­

!tween the two and have a combination ttributes from both of th e oth e r ar eas. ,eri ve s from th e cease less ac cumulati o n

l co nquer s cla ss inter es ts a nd st~ucture s . The original Marxi s t formulatto~ o~ a :parate cla ss es, a s well a s the _inev1tab1l - and the pot e nti al for revo lutton am ong

e been con s ide rably modified b y th ese

a nd WST re tain a belief in th e po ss ibil­

Ja l demise of th e capitali st world order . ie mode of production th at dominate s in rarchi cally arran ge s it s re le va nt cla sse~, emi se. Cla ss es are alway s arranged d1- 1d tensions are inh e rent to th e ir re lation­ sh new ec onomic order s em e rg e . It is a

ie c apita lis t mo de of produ c ti~n ~nd the 1be rep lac ed. Hi storical mat e nalt s ts a nd > thi s general view of the futur e, y_et_~a_ch nodification s to it so that the po ss 1b1\Jt1es

I ca pitalis t sy stem are more op e n- e nd e d , ni stic. It is also at thi s junctur e that cl e~r !en these two pe rs pectiv es , s ince hi sto_n ­ al theory 's goal of eman c ipator y pra c tice

;ts do not. . historical materi a li sm is co nce rn e d w ith

, truth claim s to reveal their e mbedd e d t from them. Unlike Hab e rma s ian critic a l ;t analytical d es cendant o f the Frankfurt )f these tw o v a ri ant s , Ri c h a rd Wy n Jone s the Italian Ma rx ist, is ju st as import a nt a

Hist orical M ate rialism and Worl d System Theory 221

w ri te r to the de ve lop m e nt o f cr it ical th eor y a s are Max Ho rk he im e r a nd T heodo r Ado rn o, ye t " th ey do no t , o n th e w ho le , in fluence the sa me sc ho l­ ar s" (2001: 5).6 Whi le G ra m sc i is not a cen tra l fig ur e to Haberm as ia n c riti­ cal th e ori s ts, hi s w ork is fund a me ntal to hi s to ri ca l m a te ri al is ts, w ho a re som e time s re fe rred to as " neo-G ra m sc ia n." It was Gr am sc i who de ve lope d the co nce pt o f a hi sto ric bl oc w ith a heg e mon ic gri p o ve r socia l co nscio us ­ ne s s a nd ide ntit y. Buildin g on hi s wo rk , h is to rica l m a ter ia li s ts in ve s ti ga te how g lobal c apit a lis m co ns titut es a ma ter ia l a nd idea ti o nal heoe mon y

0 ,

w hic h is so me tim es desc rib e d a s a for m of "d isc ip li na ry neo libe ra li s m " o r "g lo ba l gove rn a nce." 7 Thi s hege m ony re lie s on a co m p lex interr e la tio ns hip bet wee n ide ntit y, legitim a tin g ide o lo gy , so c iety , an d th e sta te, a nd it effec ­ ti ve ly o bsc ur es c apit a lis m 's inh e ren tly ex p loita tive c harac ter. Beca use the state and s oc ie ty c o-c on stitut e one a not he r w ithin th e ca p ita list w o rld econ­ o m y, hi s to rica l ma te ria li s ts ne ve r s tud y th e m se p a ra te ly an d co n s ide r the se p ara ti on of leve ls o f a na lys is s ub sc ribe d to by o th e r IR th eo rie s t o be a se rious a na ly tica l flaw.

From Gr a msc i , h istori ca l ma ter ia li s ts a lso tak e se riou s ly no tion s o f vo­ liti on , that is, the poss ibilit y of re m o v ing th e " hi sto ri c b loc " as the prim ary ob s tacl e to e q u itab le soc ia l c hange. By e ncourag ing com peti ng ideo logies and soc ial move me nt s, hi sto ri ca l m at e ria lis ts argue it is possi ble fo r a new, mo re e quit a ble hi s to ric bl oc to coa le sce . It is fo r th is re as on tha t ma ny hi s ­ to rica l mat e ria li sts a re int e res ted in th e idea of a n e me rg in g globa l c iv il so ­ c ie ty, and th e ir disc uss ion s of soc ial pr a c t ic e s a nd inte rsubj e c ti ve mea nin gs c an so und quit e co ns tru c ti v ist. A s Andr ew Li n kla te r no te s a bout histo rica l ma te ria lis m , it " e mph as izes the revolt o f th e Th ird World s tate s a nd po lit i­ cal mo vem e nt s aga ins t th e e ffec ts o f th e g lo baliza ti o n of re la tion s o f pro­ ducti o n ," a nd it foc uses o n " c o un te r-h ege m on ic state s an d soc ia l mo ve ­ me nt s and t he ir ab ilit y to poo l their p o l iti c a l res o urce s to tra ns form t he wo rld ec onom y " (l 996: 287) .

Thi s e mph as is on the a cti ve e ncourag e m e n t o f con te m po ra ry soc ial and politi ca l c ha nge is one of the w ay s hi sto ric a l m a te ri a lism di ffe rs from WST , whi c h re m a ins, at he art , a stru c tur a l t he ory abo ut the h is toric al deve lo pm e nt of the co nt e mp orar y world ord e r.8 T he analyt ical emp hasis of W S T is not on the prax is of co nte mp orar y c han ge , o r o n the th ird wo rld s peci fic ally , but on the c ha nge s Lo or w ithin th e s tru c tur e of the wo rld capi ta list sys tem itself . In othe r word s, wor ld s ys te m th eo ri st s a re in te re s ted in s tud y ing st ru ct ura l cha nges suc h as a nation -s ta te 's movem e nt fro m th e cat ego ry of se mi pe riph­ eral to co re, o r th e po liti ca l and socia l eff e ct s of capi ta lis t cy cl e s o f g~ow th and contra c tio n. Th e res ult is tha t wh ile histo rica l m ate ria l ism sees " grea te r vari a tion and flexibilit y w ithin c on te mp orar y ca p ita lism ," WST " te nd s t~ disco unt th e poss ibilit y of ge nuin e libe rat ion fro m ca pi tali s m , exce pt on a world- sys te mi c leve l" (Cra ne and Am aw i 1997 : 143) . It is fo r t h is rea son tha t hi st ori ca l materi a li s ts c la im WST ha s a "s ys te m -ma in te nan c e b ias "

c

at

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222 Historical Mater ialism and World System Theory Approaches

(Cox with Sinc lair 1996: 87) and. despite sha ring many analy tica l prem ises, are c ritica l of it.

\

Ce rtainly WST has a lways been co mmit ted to under ta nding world pol­ itics as a sys tem , and so it shares with historical ma terial ism the co nvic tion that the standard leve ls of a naly sis, and catego ries such as po litics, eco nom­ ics, and culture , are indivisible.9 Thu s the st udy of po litical stru c wre s and institution s, e thni c ity and race, religion and c ulture, and eve n the format ion and structure of househo lds a re exa mined within the co ntext of the cap italist world econom y. But WST does not trace its origins to Gramsci spec ifica lly o r critica l theory in general , and so it doe s not share historical materia lism 's goa ls of prax is, its analytical foc us, or its ep iste molog ical prefe re nces. It evo lved in the d isc ipline of soc io logy as a reac tion to modern izatio n theo ry, whic h c laimed th at the South 's inabili ty to deve lop was due to it tradi­ tional cultur es and that it wou ld need to follow a simi la r developmen t path as that of the North (see Ros tow 1962 ). WST instead pos ited that it was the capi talist divi sion of the world that acco unted for the South's eco nomic , po­ liti ca l, and soc ia l plight. Th e developmen t of WST is particula rly indeb ted to the work o f soc iologi st Immanu el Wal lers tei n. and many worl d sys tem theor ists co ntinu e to stradd le the interdi sc iplinar y line betwee n soci olo gy and IR.

The res ult is that world system theo rists are not po !positiv ists and do not share hi storical mate ria lism ' e pis temo logy, whic h Robe rt Cox de­ sc ribe s as "d ia lec tical in its exp lanation of c han ge . and he rme neutic insofar as it inqui res into purposes and meanings" (Cox with Sinclair 1996: 5 14). wo rld sys tem theo rists remain comm itted to a posi tivist e pistemo logy and me thodolog ies, and they argue that the soc ial c ie nces m ight serve as a ve­ hicle for sys temic c hange if interdi sc iplin ary ba rrie rs ca n be ove rco me to und e rstand the world sys te m i11 its hi torica l totali ty. The ir e mp hasi s on deep histor ica l co ntex t is yet anothe r way the ir schola rshi p is different from histo rical mate ria lism. wh ic h, like other neo-Marxis t perspec tives, tends to foc us on the co ntemporar y wo rld o rde r.

wo rld sys tem theo rists arg ue that it is on ly possi ble to under stand the wo rld sys te m 's curre nt structure by traci ng its historical evo lutio n since the tr ansition from fe uda lism to capitalis m in the six tee nth ce ntur y. Some world system theor ists have pushed historica l ana lys is back even further, so tha t the g lobal eco nomy of the th irteen th and fou rteen th ce nturi es is exam­ ined to unde rstand Europe 's subseq uent rise to the co re (A bu-Lug hod 1989; Frank 1998 ). Even more far-reac hi ng are c la ims that the world sys tem per­ spec tive ca n be app lied to preca pita list worlds (C ha e- Dun n a nd Ha ll I997, 199 1) a nd to the sta rt of re gional tradi ng . ove r 5.000 years ago (Frank and Gi lls 1993). Thu s a ce ntral ha llm ar k of WST is its emp has i on historical ana lys is to comp re hend both the co nte mporar y and the future interna tional system . It is for this reaso n that it ma y be c harac terized as "a g lobal spat io­ tempora l pe rspec tive" (Dougherty and Pfaltzg raff 1997: 246) . Th ese aspects

are systc conf Th and seui,

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223 d System Theory App roaches

1te sharing man y analytical premi ses,

,mmitted to und e rstanding wor ld pol­ histori ca l materialism the co nvi ction l categories such as politic s, econom- the study of political s tructure s and

1 and cul ture, and even the formation ed within the con text of the capi talist ce its or igins to Gramsci specifically oes not share historica l materialism 's ,r its epistemo logica l preferenc es . It :1.sa reaction to modernization theory, lily to deve lop was due to its tradi­ to follow a s imilar deve lopment path ). WST instead po s ited that it was the :ounted for the South's economic, po­ nent of WST is particularly indebted Waller s tein , and man y wor ld sys tem rdisc iplinary line between soc iology

1eoris ts are not postpositivi sts and do Jiste mology, which Robert Cox de ­ in of chang e, and hermeneutic ins ofar .ings" (Cox wit h Sinclair 1996: 514). itted to a po s itivi st epi stemology and e soc ial sc ience s might se rv e as a ve­ :iplinary barri ers can be overcom e to 1is tori ca l total ity. Th e ir emp ha s is on way their scho lar ship is different from 1er nee-Mar x is t perspectiv es, tends to

er. t it is only po ss ible to unde rstand the acing its histor ical evo lution si nce the !ism in the sixteenth ce ntury. Some istor ica l anal ysis back eve n further , so !nth and fourteenth centurie s is exa m­ :nt rise to the core (Abu-Lughod 1989; ; are claims that the world sys tem per­ st worlds (Cha se-Dunn and Hall 1997, jing , over 5,000 yea r s ago (Frank and • of WST is its emphasi s on histor ical temporary and the future international .y be characterized as " a globa l spat io­ j Pfaltzgraff l 997: 246 ) . The se aspec ts

Historical Materialism and World System Theory

a re c learl y dem onstrat ed in Ch apte r 7 .3 by A nn e tte Freyberg -In an 's wo rld system analysi s of the US in vas ion o f Ira q. Freyb erg-lnan argues that the co nflict mu st be understood w ithin a broa der his torica l and global con text. That co nte xt involved Iraqi att e mpt s to ma intain its se mip eriph era l sta tus and US att e mpt s to ma int ai n its s tatu s as the globe 's core hegemon, thu s se ttin g both stat es on a vio lent co llis ion co urse .

Thi s emphasis on his torical analysis ha s also produ ced varian ts within WST that are not nee- Mar x is t in o rig in or focus. On e perspective, de ve l­ oped in the US IR discipline by G eo rge Modelski and William Thomp son, is call ed evo lutionary world politi cs, and it assumes that wo rld sys te mi c cha nge s are the product of ongoin g e vo luti o nar y soc ial proces ses derived from politi ca l and ec onomi c competi t ion for glo bal leadersh ip. Th es e proce sses produ ce long cycles in global pol iti cs, w hich a re so met ime s re­ ferred to as Kondrati eff cyc les or waves, af te r N ikolai Kondrat ieff, the sc ho lar who fir st identifi ed them . The se cyc les acco unt for the regular pa t­ te rn s of war-making, trading , institut io n buildin g, and coalition forming that we see in multipl e reg ion s throu ghout hi s tory . Kondratieff cycles are parti cu larl y important to the ev oluti o na ry wo rld politics va riant , whic h te nd s to e mpha size po liti cs rather than eco nomics as the prime motivat ing force for the sys tem. Yet its ana lytical foc u s and goa ls are so s im ilar to other world syste m variant s that , as a mea ns of cap turing the se di verg e nt strand s under the same rubric , it ma y be mor e appro priate to refer to WST as world sys tem histo ry instead (Den em ark 1999; Frank 1991 ).

Because both historical materia lism and WST demand that socia l re al­ ity be und erstood a s a totality , the sco p e and co mpreh ens ive ne ss of their analy ses are both impressive and daun ting. Th ey a re the on ly IR the ore tical persp ec tives that, giv en their assu mpt ive frameworks, co ns is tently and si ­ multaneou s ly exa min e the re lation s h ip between all nati on- states in the in­ ternational sys tem. In so doing, they expand the di scipline 's vision of its own s ubj ect matter and provid e a hi s tori ca l, sys temic cont ex t fo r under ­ sta ndin g global social problem s that other pe rs pecti ve s either compl e tely ignore or disc uss o nly as they re lat e to the powe rful core nation-st ates. In a di sciplin!_! that te nd s to der ive its theo ret ica l ins ight s from contem porar y trends and so enco unt ers se riou s analyti ca l di ff iculties when tho se trends chang e or di sappear, WST un~ erscores the nee d for a lono-t e rm theoretical

0

per spective. Both of these theori es al so prompt us to co ns ider the ex tent to wh ich the disc ipline of IR and its modes of thought a re co mpone nts of the capita lis t " hi stori c blo c " a nd , by re fu s ing to co nfr ont this comp lici ty, we participate in the ongoing produ c tion o f g loba l inequity.

la Further Reading The central figu re in the de velopmen t o f cri tica l theory 's historical mat eri­ alis m va riant is Robert Cox , who fir st desc ribed his app roach in the wide ly

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224 Histori cal Materialism and World System Theory Approaches

re pri nted essay "Soc ial Forces, S tates, and Wor ld Ord ers" ( 198 1 ), a nd s ub­ se qu entl y ex pand ed hi s argume nt s in the book P roduction, Power, and World Order ( 1987). Two o the r important wo rks by Cox inc lud e an edit ed vo lum e ( 1997 ) a nd a co llect io n o f his essays ( 1996) ed ited by one of his stud ents, Timoth y S inclair .

Other se min al hi sto ric a l mat e ri a list texts inc lud e Cafr un y 1990; Gal­ tun g 197 1; G ill 1998, 1995, 1990a; Harro d 1987; Murphy 1994, 1990; van der Pij l 1998 , 1984 ; Ru pert 2003, 1995; and Sinc lair 1994. Edi ted vo lume s de voted to h istorica l mate ri ali sm inc lude Mittl e man 1997, Murphy and Too ze 199 1, Ove rb ee k 1993 , Pa lan 2000 b, Pal a n and Gi lls 1994 , a nd Ru­ pe rt and Smit h 2002. In add itio n , see the 20 11 J ournal of /111erna ti ona l R e­ lations and Deve lopment forum edit ed by Bruff and Tep e entitl ed, " What Is Criti ca l lP E? "

For works that exp lo re the influ ence of G ramsc i on IR theo ri z ing and the deve lop me nt of historica l materialis m, see Aye rs 2008, Biei er and Mor­ ton 2004 , Cox 1983, Ge rmain and Ke nn y 1998, Gill I 993, Ho lub I 992, Mur ph y 1998 , W. Rob inson 2004, Rupe rt 1998, and Tooze 1990 . Th e work of sc ho lars who subscrib e Lo the Haberm as ian varia nt of critica l theor y, such as Andrew Link late r and M . Ho ffm an , are disc usse d in Chap ter 6. 1, while an ed ited volume tha t brings both varia nt s toge ther is Wyn Jon es 20 0 I .

Th e ce ntr al figu re in the deve lopment of WST is Imman ue l Waller stein (2004, 1980, 1974). Th e re are seve ra l co llectio ns that re pr odu ce hi s mos t se minal essays, w ith the mo st w ide ly rea d be ing The Cap italist World­ Economy ( 1979; see a lso 199 1 ). A co llec tion of essays about Wall ers tein 's wo rk and influ e nce on the d isc ipl ine ca n be found in two s pecial issues of J ournal of World Sys tems R esearc h, bo th ed ited by Giovanni A rr ighi and Walt er Go ldfr a nk (2 000 a, 2000b). Ano the r in fl ue nti a l sc ho la r in WST is Chri stopher Chase-D unn ( 1989 , 1982, 198 1 ), who, w ith in Wallerste in 's ca t­ ego ri es of inte rnation a l di vis io n , diffe re nti ate d s tate int eres ts and policy strat eg ies depe ndin g on va ri ance in prod uct ion adva nta ges.

Othe r notab le wo rks o f wo rld sys te m theo ri s ts include Ab u -Lughod 1989; Arrig hi I 994; A rri g hi and Si lve r 1999; Baran 1967; Braud e l 1979; Bur ~h and De nemark 1997; C hase -Dunn a nd Ha ll 1997, 199 1; C h iro l and Ha ll 1982; Denemar k 1999; and Fra nk 1998, 199 1. T he re are num ero us co l­ lec tions of W ST, inc ludi ng Boswe ll 1989; C hase-D unn 1995; Frank and Gi lls 1993; Ho llist and Rose nau 198 1; Hopk ins and Wall erste in 1996, 1980; Hopk ins , Wa llers te in, and Assoc ia tes 1982; and Sc haeffe r and Wallerste in 1989. Shann on 1989 prov ides a use ful introdu ct ion to the pers pe~tive, and, for an analys is o f the place of ho use ho ld s tru c ture s in the wo rld capita list sys tem , see S. Sm ith and Wallers tei n 1992.

Evo lutionary wo rld theor y ca n be found in the works of Geo rge Model ­ ski ( 1996, 1987a, 1978) and William T hom pso n (200 1, 1988, 1983), and to­ gether they have coa uth o red a numb er o f impo rt ant pieces in thi s perspective

225 Historical Materiali sm and Wor ld System Theory I System Theory Appr oaches

ind Wor ld Ord ers" (19 8 1), and s ub­ the book Prod uc ti on , Powe r, an d

mt work s by Cox incl ude a n ed it ed ess ays ( 1996) edit ed b y o ne of hi s

;t texts inc lud e Ca frun y 1990 ; Ga l­ -rod 1987; M urph y 1994 , 199 0 ; van ; and S incl air 1994 . Edit ed vo lum e s ude Mittl ema n 199 7 , Mur p hy and O0b , Palan and G ill s 1994 , a nd Ru- 1e 2011 J ournal of Interna tiona l Re ­ 'JY Bruff and Tepe e ntitl ed , " Wh at Is

ce o f Gra msc i on IR theori zin g and ;m, see Ayers 2008 , Bi e le r and Mo r­ :nn y 199 8, G ill l 993 , Ho lu b I992 , ert 199 8, and Tooz e 1990. Th e wo rk nasian vari ant o f c ritical the or y, such r e disc ussed in C hapte r 6 .1 , whil e an togethe r is Wyn Jo nes 20 0 I . ent of WST is Imm anu el Wall ers te in co llection s th at re produ ce hi s m o st

, read be ing Th e Cap ita list Wo rld ­ .ec tio n of essays abo ut Wa lle rs te in 's an be foun d in t wo spec ia l iss ues of ,ot h ed it ed by Gi ova nni A rri g hi a nd ot her influ e nti a l sc ho lar in W S T is 198 1 ), who, with in Wa lle rste in 's cat ­ erenti ated sta te in tere st s a nd po li cy )duction adva nt age s . stem theo rists inc lud e Abu -Lu g ho d :r 1999 ; Baran 1967 ; B ra ud e l 1979 ; mn and Ha ll 19 97 , 199 l ; C hi rot and 1998 , 199 1. Th e re are num ero us co l- 1989 ; Ch ase- Dunn 1995 ; Fr ank and Hopkin s and Wallerste in 1996, 198 0; 1982 ; and S chae ffe r and Wa lle rste in introdu ct ion to the pe rspec ti ve, and ,

old s tru c tur es in the world ca pitali st

992. found in th e wo rks o f Geo rge Mo de l­ 'hompson (200 1, 198 8, 19 83), and to ­ of important piece s in th is pers pec tive

( Mode ls ki an d Th o mp son 199 9, 199 6 , 1988). Mod e ls ki a lso ma in ta in s a we bs ite (htt ps://fac ul ty. was hin g ton.ed u/ mode lsk i/ in dex .hrml ) on e vo lut ion ­ ar y wor ld po liti cs that pro v ides ess ays, b ibli o g ra phi es, and link s to o th er pe rtin ent we bs it es on th e subj ec t. A n e arl y exc h ange a mon g Willi am Th o m ps on , C hri stop her C hase- Dunn , and Jo an So k o lo vs ky (1983) in I nter­ nati onal Studi es Quart erly und e rsc or es it s d iff e re nce s w ith oth e r va ri a nts o f WS T.

O the r wo rk on Ko ndr a tie ff lo ng cyc les in IR inc lud es F ree m a n 1983; Go ld s te in 198 8; Kle inkn ec ht , Ma nd e l , and Wa ll e rs te in 1992; Kondrati e ff 1984 ; Ras le r and T ho mp so n I98 9 , l 994 ; and an e di ted vo lu me on the s ub ­

ject , Mo de lsk i 19 87 b.

Repr ese nt at ive wo rk s of de pend ency th eo ry inc lud e Amin 1977; Ca r­ d o so and F ale tt o 1979 ; Fra nk 1970 , 1969; a nd Pr e bi sc h 1963 . A spec ial iss ue of International Org aniza tion de vo ted to depe nd e ncy th eo ry .wa s ed ­ ited by Ja mes C apora so ( 1978). Mo re rece nt ov er v iews o f depe nde ncy th e­ o ry and its le gac y inclu de Arri g hi 200 2; He lle r, Ru e sc he meye r, and Sn yde r 2009; an d Pac ke nham 1992 .

E3 Notes I . Robe rt Cox re fe rs to the appr oa c h as "hi storica l dia lec tic" (Cox with S inc la ir

1996: ix), a nd it is so me tim es ca lle d "C ox ia n hi s toric is m. " In linkin g the a pp ro ac h to M a rx is m a nd c riti c a l th e or y, Ric h ard Wy n Jo ne s no tes th a t Hork he im er firs t na me d c ritic a l th eo ry " inte rdi sci pl ina ry m a te ri al is m " ( I 99 9 : 14 ). Th e practit io ne rs o f WST , o n the oth e r hand , pr efe r th e te rm s "w or ld sys te m par adigm ," "ana lysis," or "his tory," ra the r than " the o ry," since the la tte r s ugges ts a s ing le , unifi ed ex pl a na ­ tio n . T he ter m " th e ory" ha s bee n use d he re , how eve r, in kee pi ng w ith it s usa ge throu g hout thi s book as a n um bre lla te rm sig nif yi ng a vari e ty o f ap proac hes, ar g u­ me nts, a nd wo rk s w ith in a broa d , a na lytic a l tradi tio n .

2. See, fo r ex amp le, Do y le 1997, G ilpin 1987, a nd Ri c ha rd son 20 01b . 3. Fo r an exa mp le o f ho w diff e re nt a na ly tic a l pe rs pec ti ves su bsc r ibe to heg e ­

mo nic stab ilit y theo ry, see C hri s top he r Cha se- Dunn e t a l. 1994 . 4. De pe nden cy th eo ry wa s deve lo pe d b y La tin Am e r ic a n sc ho lar s an d wa s

ori g ina lly ass oc ia te d with the Unit ed Nat io ns Co nfe re nc e o n Tra de a nd De ve lop­ me nt ( UNCTA D) and its Ec onomic Co m m iss ion on La ti n A me rica (EC LA) . Writ e rs for EC LA .;tnd UNC TAD a rgued that La tin A me rica was unab le to deve lop d ue to its unfavorab le te rm s o f tra d e with c a pi ta li st so c ie ties . De pe nden cy the or ists a lso a r­ g ue d , al ong a na lyti ca l line s deve loped by Le nin , th a t tran sn a tio na l a lli a nces be ­ twee n ca pit a list a nd bo urgeo is ie c lasses in E uro pe a n a nd L a tin Amer ica n soc ie ties e ffe ctive ly ex plo ited the wor ke rs of the la tte r.

5 . C ra ig M u rphy ( 1990 ) a rg ues , for exa mp le, th at the re is a cla ss a lli an ce be ­ twee n th e "Atl anti c" o r "tr ilat era l"' rulin g cla ss in th e co re, the "o rg an iza ti on bo ur­ ge o is ie" rulin g cla ss in the th ird world , and som e o f th e s ubo rd in a te cla sses in th e co re, wh ic h co llec tive ly subo rdinat e a ll th e oth e r cla ss e s. See al so G ill 1990a , W. Rob inso n 20 04 , a nd va n der Pij l 1984 .

6 . Th er e a re exce ptio ns, as so me sec uri ty sc ho lar s ha ve so ught to comb ine in ­ sight s from Gra m sc i a nd the Fr an kfu rt Sc hoo l in to w ha t is kn o wn as th e We ls h or Ab e rys twy th Sc hool (see Booth 2008 a nd Wy n Jo nes 199 9).

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~ 226 Historical Materialism and World System Theory Approaches

7. The fir s t term is drawn from Stephen Gil l '; th eo ry of global ization ( 1998 . 1995), which argues that variou s global mark et fo rces and a ge nts discipline sta te s and soc ie ties into neolibera l ideology and str ucture s. Th e seco nd te rm is use d by multipl e theor e ti c a l per s pectives and he nce ha s mul tip le m ea ning s (se e, fo r exam­ ple, Hoffmann a nd Ba 2005), bu t in hi storic al materia lis m it is used to indi cate the hegemony of capi ta list norm s and di sco urse. As Tim oth y Sin c lair notes , it means " to become he ge monic in the Gramsc ian se nse o f comb ining co erc ive powe r wit h a mea sure of co nse ns us" ( 1999 : 158). It is not a benign co nce pt in the h istorica l ma-

terial ist con text. 8. It is so me tim es referr e d to s im ply as ··stru c turali s m."' Baylis and Sm ith

(20 11), fo r exa m ple, c laim th at Marxi s t th eory is a lso known as "s tru c tur alism" or WST , so that all three are eq ua ted with one a nother. Yiotti and Kauppi ( I 999 : 356), on the othe r h a nd , refer to WST as "globalism ·· and hi s to rica l ma te ria lis m as

"neostructura lism." 9. The se id eas are drawn directl y from Marx, w ho ar g ued that politics and eco-

nom ics were interrelated , not sepa rate domain s, and that soc ie ty had to be studied in its to ta lity. As Yiotti and Kauppi pu t it, "g loba lists argue that to ex plain be havi o r at an y and a ll leve ls of a nal ys is- the indi vidua l, bur eaucratic . socie tal. and betwee n sta te s or between soc ieties -o ne mu st fir s t under s tand th e ove rall struc ture o f the global sys te m wit hin w hic h s uc h beh av ior takes p lac e . As with real is ts, globa lists be lieve that th e starting po int o f anal ysis s ho uld be th e int e rnational sys tem . To a large ex tent, the behavior o f indiv idual a c tors is exp lain ed by a sys tem that prov ides

co nst raint s and op portun ities" ( 1999: 341 ).

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