Report on Activities 2001

Working Group “Rise and Decline in the World System”


In 2001 the working group organized the international workshop “The Challenges of Globalization and the Problems of Large (Semi-)Peripheral Countries (China, India, Russia, Brazil, Congo)”. The workshop was held at IMEMO (Institute of World Economy and International Relations), Moscow, on May 31-June 2, 2001. In total 35 scholars from Russia (including researchers from academic research institutes located in Moscow and regional universities), India, China, Belgium, Macedonia and Spain participated. The co-sponsors of the workshop: EADI (for participants from European countries), Moscow department of Institute for Open Society – Soros Foundation and IMEMO. The participants from India and China were awarded by their national foundations. Working languages – Russian and English (with simultaneous interpreting). The speakers focused mainly on the following issues:

  1. The concept of globalization: does it reflect the post-industrial reality?

  1. The problems of structural adjustment, transformation and development at the (semi)-periphery.

  1. The role of the state (coercion), markets (competition) and civil society (co-operation and social capital) in the development of large countries.

  1. Large (semi-)peripheral countries and the rise of new socio-economic and political agents (MNCs, NGOs, local entrepreneurial class, informalization, etc.).



The fruitful discussion among workshop participants succeeded in reconsidering some well-known concepts. In the opinion of most of the speakers, the global shift towards a post-industrial, knowledge-based society presupposes the transformation of the old centre-periphery structure of the world system. Now we see an emergence of networks of post-industrial “points” in different countries while the structures of industrial society are declining. At the same time, the large semi-peripheral countries have some principal features which distinguish them from “ordinary” developing nations. Despite obvious difficulties, they have sufficient potential for post-industrial breakthroughs and can play a very significant role in globalization. Inward-looking development is a necessary condition for their active participation in the process of globalization; without a strong “internal” base such countries risk becoming passive “globalization-takers” but not “globalization-makers”.

The complete report on the Moscow workshop is available at the EADI website (EADI-IMEMO Workshop).

Now the working group is engaged into preparing papers which are to be presented at the EADI General Conference in Ljubljana. The papers will focus on the comparative analysis of semi-developed regions (the Eastern Europe and Latin America), on the one hand, and on the similarities between declining of industrial structures in different regions, on the other hand.

Also, the working group suggests drawing attention to the particular role of science and technology in the transformation of the world system. Respectively, some preliminary work for organizing a joint workshop with the Working Group “Science and Technology in Development” was accomplished during a meeting of EC and conveners in Prague.

Co-convener of Working Group Victor Krassilchtchikov, Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Moscow.