Anarchy in the World-System

Abstract

The world-system has been in a crisis for a while. The decline of U.S. hegemony, the rise of China, and Russia’s assertive foreign policy are the most important issues regarding the course of the world-system. On the one hand, the United States and its allies (in Samir Amin’s words, “the triad”) have desperately tried to protect the status quo. On the other hand, China and Russia have tried to create an alternative to sustain the capitalist world-system instead of U.S. hegemony. For this reason, to analyze the world-system, I argue that core-periphery relations should be reevaluated regarding China and Russia with the concept of semi-core. This study aims to evaluate the possible outcomes and prospects in the world-system in light of the rivalry between core and semi-core, and asserts that the world-system is in the phase of interregnum that consists of instabilities and disorders. This phase of interregnum has stemmed from the existence of semi-core and the structural crisis of the system.