Chapter Two
2. Definition of Concepts and Debate:
This chapter defines and conceptualize the terms in operation and make a presentation of the debate and evolution of the mainstream dominant models of realists, liberalists and Marxists school of thoughts. Other issues are highlighted in passing to guard against myself.
2.1 Definition of Concepts and Terms;
The World System; By world system we refer to the international system where long and short alternating economic cycles of ups and downturns, characterised by the processes of capital accumulation, changes in centre semi-periphery and the periphery positions within it, with world system hegemony and rivalry. As inline with the conceptualization of Susan Strange and Robert Cox of the present system of things with the shift in focus in the IR and international economy to the IPE where they question the separation of the dominant models and how they bring about changes in the real world. Strange arguing political reasons are the primary areas of understanding the social world while Cox on his part argues the economic reasons are the primary areas of understanding the social world. This study therefore understands the world system as the international system. In what concerns this paper, the focus is on the approaches understood as global or international political economy which look at the relationships between the two segregated streams of politics and economics. Understood by proponent of the world system as an intellectual movement, capable of transforming social science into a vehicle for world wide social change. That is distinguished from the world-system of Wallerstein, a position taken by Amin or the’’ modern’’ world system of Frank that began some five hundred years ago as against the world-system conception of Frank that stretches five thousand years ago before 1492 (Frank and Gills 1992, 1993). Where the process of capital accumulation is the motor force that differentiate the present world system from previous world-system, what Amin calls ‘’tributary’’ or Wallerstein “world empires’’ (op cit). Where the centre semi-periphery and the periphery structures include the transfer of surplus to zones of the world system (frank 1969). With the alternation between hegemony and rivalry, regional hegemonies and rivalries and hegemonic leadership and rivalry in international relations since 1492.(Wallerstein 1984) (Modelski 1987)
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