Semi-periphery countries

In world-systems theory, the semi-periphery countries (sometimes referred to as just the semi-periphery) are the industrializing, mostly capitalist countries which are positioned between the periphery and 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 comparative to that of the role that Spain and Portugal played in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries as intermediate trading groups within the European colonial empire.

Today, the semi-periphery is generally industrialized. Semi-peripheral countries contribute to the manufacturing and exportation of a variety of goods. They are marked by above average land mass, as exemplified by Argentina, China, India, Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, and Iran. More land mass typically means an increased market size and share. Semi-peripheral nations are not all large though, as smaller countries such as Israel, Poland, and Greece exist within the semi-periphery.

Semi-peripheral countries offer their citizens relatively diverse economic opportunities but also have extreme gaps between the rich and poor. World-system theorists originally used only two categories: periphery countries and core countries. A need for an in between category became quickly apparent, leading to the establishment of the semi-periphery category for societies that have moved away from the periphery but have not become core. In other words, the category describes societies that remain dependent, and to some extent underdeveloped, despite having achieved significant levels of industrialization. Semi-peripheral countries are tied into dynamic world systems that focus on the reliance of poor nations upon the wealthy, a concept known as the dependency theory. The term semi-periphery has been applied to countries that existed as early as in the thirteenth century. In theory, the creation of a semi-periphery category has added sociological and historical layers to previous developmental theories--yet it still has similar, inherently capitalist foundations.

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