Multidimensional quantitative methods for improving world-system analysis: examining mobility across periphery-semi periphery-core structure

Abstract

Even though during the last five decades world-system framework has experienced an enormous development, as it has provided a wide range of analytical categories for spatiotemporal processes from historical sociology gaze, it might not have deepened enough into its empirical dimension beyond historiographic resources. Regarding this fact, one of its main axes as three tier structure of core-semi periphery-periphery and its features have been well described and discussed from the beginning. However, empirical quantitative methodology for determining reshaping and mobility along this structure has been barely treated in comparison with the employment of qualitative and observational techniques. To fill this relative absence is fundamental not only to study mechanisms for upgrade or downgrade mobility during long wave periods but also because of the importance of providing tools for researching systemic transformations in a controversial region such as the semi periphery. This last one is especially important in relation with this sort of methodology because of the ambiguity that this category sometimes have showed in different analysis as well as the structural relevance that it has for (dis)stabilizing world-system. In this sense, this paper seeks two main goals. Firstly, to collect all the previously described quantitative methodologies for world-system mobility analysis. Secondly using primary sources and data, to put them into practice and to combine their different tools in order to boost the future outcomes from world-system theory.