NationStates Jolt Archive

Background: Dr. Immanuel Wallerstein is a notable academician in the real world, mostly known for his "World Systems Theory," a way in which to view the current global world. Wallerstein divides the world into three concentric circles: the Core, the semi-Periphery, and the Periphery.

Nations in the Core are the "superpowers" of the world- the most technologically and industrially advanced, arguably with the highest standards of living, most freedoms, etc. The nations in the core dominate the other two spheres culturally, economically, and militarily. These nations consume the most. RL examples would be the United States, Russia, Germany, China.

Nations in the semi-periphery are industrialized or developing nations that have some of the traits of a Core nation, but lacks the development or power to be fully recognized and dominate the spheres. These nations provide some raw materials and finished goods for core nations, while consuming less. Examples of these nations would be Brazil, Thailand, Syria.

Nations in the periphery are most often called "Third World." They are underdeveloped or undeveloped, or in the process of developing, and are rich in natural resources and labour. These nations are exploited (for lack of a better world) by the core nations, which draw on their resources and labor to feed their consumption. These nations are victims of cultural or physical colonialism and imperialism, often seeing the values and culture of the Core or semi-periphery nations imposed or encouraged over their own. These nations make up the bulk of the world. RL examples would be Sudan, Malaysia, Kenya, Kazakhstan.


Let's apply Wallerstein's theory to the NationStates world. Based on the UN reports, daily rankings, and the way you RP your nation, which sphere of the World System does your nation fall on? Are you a dominant Core nation with high development, or are you a peripheral state rich in natural resources? Look at your standing in RP circles or your region. Do you fit in at all? Give an analysis of your nation to explain your choice.


IC:

Snefaldia
Ranking: Semiperipheral State
The Centralized Mountain States of Snefaldia fits somewhere between semi-periphery and periphery, probably closer to a semi-peripheral state than anything.

Economy
Recently industrialized and opened to the world, Snefaldia has a rich history and abundant natural resources, as well as a thriving agricultural base. The government has been careful to avoid foreign domination by maintaining a defensive military and strong nationalist unification policies, but trade and foreign influence is on the rise. While most of the agriproduct is for internal consumption, there is an increasing export to foreign countries, and while much of the economy is still cottage industry, industrialization and factories are widespread in large cities.

Culture
Snefaldia maintains a diverse and strong local culture, which varies from region to region. Foreign things, like clothing and media, are becoming more widespread but are vastly outpaced by local media. It is extremely uncommon to see foreign clothing even in the large metropolitan cities, which stems from a respect for tradition and strong national identity. Government slogans such as "Snefaldia: One people, many faces" and "Snefaldia: One rainbow, many colors" were coined in the 60's to develop a sense of national identity that encouraged regional practices while emphasizing a national identity. Culturally, Snefaldia is more sound.

Regional
A member of the Antarctic Oasis region, Snefaldia is one of least economically advanced nations, one of the few that have not signed the Antarctic Oasis Economic Advancement Agreement. Though consistently ranked by the UN as environmentally friendly and a wonderful place to visit, Snefaldia has also ranked consistently low in economic and prosperity terms. Diplomatic connections and treaties with other nations, such as the Allied Antarctic Asskickers, give a measure of security to the nation, which maintains a mostly defensive military.

Adygea
Ranking: Peripheral State
The Republic of Adygea is a developing nation, which might put it in the semiperipheral zone, except that it is very small and economically weak.

Economy
Adygea is mostly dependent on agriculture and tourism to fuel its industry. Mining, industrial production and machining, and oil and natural gas production make up secondary sectors of the economy. Corruption and counter-revolutionary factions in the government have made it difficult to move the economy forward, further compounded by ethnic disputes in North-West Ossetia and Kabardino-Balkaria, and Asian and Russian economic troubles, which Adygea historically relied on to export most of its goods.

Through the Our Adygea political movement, however, Adygea has been making steady headway in reform policies, by means of extremely tough anti-corruption laws. These laws are the subject of debate elsewhere in the world, which may consider them authoritarian and heavy-handed.

Adygea's power distribution system was privatized at the beginning of the administration of Sovmen, the first Our Adygea President, as were many other industries, including, controversially, the arms manufacturing industry, as well as the telecommunications industry (the latter of which forced through Parliament on the third try). As a result, Adygea is much better equipped than other post-Soviet societies to provide a basic framework for its citizens. Prices, once dictated by the state, are now able to be set by private companies, with zero governmental involvement therein—again, with much controversy. Adygea has been attempting to make headway in reducing the size of the government, leading some to believe that Sovmen, and especially Bacherikov, the current President, are effectively libertarians.

Agriculture, largely destroyed during the years of turmoil following the breakup of the Soviet Union, has begun to make a comeback in the Adygean economy, although it is periodically plagued with diseases and infestations. Several federal initiatives have been implemented by Bacherikov's administration to attempt to favour farmers more than Adygea under Sovmen. These are largely in the form of transportation assistance and tariffs on foreign agricultural goods, but it is unclear how effective these measures will be—especially since Adygea cannot afford to lose vital trade partners by placing tariffs too high.

Donations from the United Kingdom, Belgium, Spain, Canada and the United States have in recent years begun to change from humanitarian aid to technical aid, in the form of lawyers, parliamentarians, industrial specialists, and so on and so forth.

Culture
Adygea's culture is widely diverse, to put it mildly. Ethnic Adyghe make up a significant portion of the population (72.6%). Other ethnic groups include Russians, Armenians, Ukrainians, Kabardins, Balkars, Ossetians, Karachays, Chechens, Jews, Ubykh, Cherkess, Abazins, Nogais and Ingush, as well as a small percentage that identified as 'other'.

Adygea also represents considerable linguistic diversity. Within the Adyghe branch of Circassian (itself a branch of the Northwest Caucasian languages), there are several dialects, including Abzekh, Adamey, Bzhedugh, Hatukuay, Kemirgoy, Makhosh, Natekuay, Shapsugh, Zhane and Yegerikuay. Kabardian has its own dialects, as well; the other branch, Abkhaz-Abazan, including Abaza, Abkhaz and Ubykh language, is widely spoken in the south-east.

Adygean culture has evolved over thousands of years of existence, its earliest roots lying in the Maykop and Kuban cultures, which first emerged in the palaeolithic era.

[ I need to write more culture-y things. ]

OOC: I'm not really sure RL systems like this can be applied well to NS, There are so many nations that true "dominance" is impossible. Dominance among, say, actively warmongering nations, can be well-defined, but they represent such a small fraction of the overall multiverse that it's negligible. In addition, I think most people portray their nations as highly developed, and disproportionately few as what would be considered "peripheral": probably not "the bulk of the world" in this context.

OOC: I'm not really sure RL systems like this can be applied well to NS, There are so many nations that true "dominance" is impossible. Dominance among, say, actively warmongering nations, can be well-defined, but they represent such a small fraction of the overall multiverse that it's negligible. In addition, I think most people portray their nations as highly developed, and disproportionately few as what would be considered "peripheral": probably not "the bulk of the world" in this context.

OOC: I thought about it over lunch and considered that. It's mostly from a personal perspecitve- where do you see your nation within your RP or regional sphere? There are certainly nations that would fit into these categories; it's also entirely based on the player's opinion. GMC Military Arms and Hack RPed that Hack was GMC's colony- which would be a peripheral nation, more or less- because the UN ranking indicated that Hack was weak militarily and rich in resources, while GMC was the opposite. It's the same sort of principle. I'll edit the OP to reflect.

I know NS works on some different terms, but Wallerstein would argue that his system is apparenty in any setting- hegemonic powers in economic, military, and social terms have always been around. Rome was a "Core Nation" in the sense that it was the dominant exploiter- places like Gaul and Judea were definitely in the periphery. It's just a question of where you think you stand.

Altanar
Ranking: Semiperipheral State

Altanar can best be classified as a strong semiperipheral state with ambitions of becoming a Core nation in the not too distant future. However, Altanar faces several obstacles on the path to achieving that ambition.

Economy: Altanar has a strong, capitalist-based economy. The nation's economy has traditionally been focused on agricultural and mineral production, but has diversified in recent years to include the information technology sector. While Altanar's manufacturing industries are large and developed enough to meet the demands of the domestic market, they have not yet developed enough to produce a strong export presence. As a result, net imports often exceed net exports for manufactured goods. However, Altanar has a substantial export market regionally and internationally for its agricultural and mineral products. The influence of trade and interaction with other nations is slowly changing Altanar's culture, although a strong emphasis on national sovereignty and national defense prevent such change from becoming domination or overwhelming the traditional Altanari culture.

Culture: The culture of Altanar shows variations both regionally and ethnically among the three major ethnic groups in the nation. In addition, traditional dominance by the ethnic Altanari over their Akamian and Argali counterparts has produced significant tension, distrust and conflict amongst the three groups. However, shared roots in a nomadic heritage and shared indigenous religion provide a strong foundation for the three ethnic groups to find common ground - if they choose to. A series of talks taking place between the three groups is expected to reshape the dynamic between them, and may well reshape the entire nation as well.

Accelerating foreign immigration has been the norm following decades of open immigration policies and programs aimed specifically at providing a refuge for oppressed or suffering people from other nations. As a result, the concept of what it means to be "Altanari" and the shared values of the nation are slowly being reshaped and redefined by new arrivals. Most Altanari seem tolerant of these changes and welcoming of the new beliefs, religions and ideals. However, a small but vocal nationalist movement has begun to pose a threat, albeit a minor one, to national stability and order.

The current ethnic breakdown of Altanar is as follows: Altanari 50%; Akamian 19%; Argali 16%; all others 15% (note: “all others” is the official terminology used by the government to describe all residents and citizens of Altanar who are not of one of the three original ethnic groups of the Altan steppes).

Regional: Residing in the Lavinium region, Altanar is a major diplomatic and political player there. In addition, Altanar boasts one of the strongest economies and military forces in its region, making it very significant locally. However, Altanar has yet to translate that regional importance into a significant international presence. Its military is maintained strictly for defensive purposes and humanitarian missions, and the nation prefers to steer a neutral course through the rocky shoals of international relations. Altanar has had a larger influence through its use of diplomacy, and is seeking to expand upon that.

Tsaraine

The Greater Ascendancy would be strongly within the Core if only it wanted to be. As it is, its resource needs and population pressures are taken care of by its colonies, and outside these it maintains a policy of splendid isolation.

Economy: Tsaraine's centralized, command economy is a juggernaut in terms of production, its quality kept high by a strong emphasis on education (which is free). However, a majority of it is devoted to internal needs, as the Ascendancy has a policy of self-sufficiency in basic goods, and ideologically holds a strong opposition to free-market capitalism.

Culture: Although local ethnic differences have been flattened by four hundred years of homogenizing, bureaucratic-centralist rule, the Tsarainese culture as a whole remains strong and relatively impervious to foreign influences, due to somewhat draconian policies on foreign business and advertising, paranoid censors, and an entrenched political system which most foreigners would not consider ideal.

Regional: Tsaraine's direct neighbours, the Border States (Which don't, OOCly, exist - I put them there mainly because I needed some neighbours on my national map, to start with), are a bunch of peripheral or semi-peripheral hellholes formerly part of the Commonwealth of Tsaraine. They are utterly dominated by the Greater Ascendancy economically, culturally, and militarily. However, Tsaraine's influence does not extend much beyond these immediate neighbours - its economic influence is stricken by an ideological lack of interest in economic hegemony, its political influence by an ideological stance of general isolationism, and its military similarly lacks major force projection abilities (but is, of course, a terrifying behemoth on its own ground).

Samcoa
Ranking: Semiperipheral State
The Union of Samcoa would be classified as semiperipheral, for it is a relatively young nation only just beginning to realise the potential of its resources.

Economy
For some reason woodchip exports are hauling in big money for Samcoa. In addition, the automobile industry has begun to take real shape, with several manufacturers opening shop within the nation and competing to make the best cars. Until recently, cheap and largely old run-arounds have been used by those citizens rich enough to afford them. A recent decision to give more money to the retired and to stop cold calling by capital-hungry businesses might have a detrimental effect on the economy - but Samcoa seems to be making steady progress without much help from the surrounding world.

Culture
Like cars, sport is becoming more and more important to the citizens of Samcoa. A sense that the people are "building tradition" has really enthused everyone on the island. The weather is largely warm in summer but often very cold in winter, which means seasonal tourism brings another aspect of Samcoa's culture to the fore. The volcanic and mountainous region, encircled by The Eight Lakes in the north, is popular indeed. The nationalistic slogan "Let's stick together" has kept the nation more-or-less to itself since the days of the war when it was unwillingly used as a stop off for American bomber planes, which turned it into something of a target land, so real international ties have not really been forged.

Regional
This North Pacific region is fairly anonymous among its thousands of neighbours, with no real accolades of note. It has done nothing to put itself on the map, so to speak, so it is more than likely that the majority of the world doesn't fully comprehend what Samcoa has to offer. Doubtless there will be other similarly-able nations, though, which makes Samcoa's drive for success on a global level all the more difficult (and needless); a healthy and wealthy economy within the next few years will probably be enough to satisfy the people.

Ranking: Semiperipheral

Economy: Total Distopia has a very strong economy based on self-sufficience as well as minor trading of minerals with other nations (most notably uranium). However; due to Total Distopia's violently xenophobic attitude (and the fact I haven't RPed this nation much yet, heh heh), lack of international trade has stalled this country from leaving the semiperipheral state. Total Distopia's technology is largely based on the very advanced military tech left behind by the former Omnipsychotian Empire. This 'helping hand' in developing their own military technology has catapulted Total Distopia forward in this area of research and development. Total Distopia routinely makes use of cybernetic implants and nano-technology, as well as advanced laser-based weaponry. However, Total Distopia has yet to develope working A.I. The only known incident involving A.I. ended in tragedy when the construct detonated a nuclear weapon at the research base where it was developed in order to commit suicide. To this day scientists have failed to explain how and why this event came to be.

Culture: Total Distopia's culture is stagnant to the point of being non-existent. Some cultural traditions have been passed on from the former Omnipsychotian Empire (such as certain holidays), but mostly Total Distopia harbours a culture of decadence and moral decay among the rich, and a culture of fear and survival for the remainder of the population. In many cases, the popular culture of other nations seeps through the communications "Iron Curtain" Total Distopia has imposed on itself, instantly creating a fad which sweeps the nation. Sociologists speculate this is due to the fact Total Distopians will cling to anything to stave off the torment they endure living under Psy Peterson's iron fist.

Region: As the only nation currently in the Empire of Total Distopia, Total Distopia is the undisputed leader of the region. However, this does more to showcase the fierce hatred Total Distopians have for outsiders than it does to showcase Total Distopia's power.

Sunset
Ranking: Core

Economy:
Sunset has consistantly placed in the top 1-3% in most economic sectors and really deserves it's 'Frightening' ranking. While not as focused on external trade as some Core powers, it has extensive trade with all of the Triumvirate nations and Martian Sphere nations. This trade generally focuses on information and technological exchange - as a primarily extra-solar nation Sunset lacks little in the way of material resources.

Culture:
'Varied' is putting it lightly. Sunset started as a human Martian colony with a typical American conglomeration of cultural values. Secondary culture sets were primarily Japanese, Russian, and German origin, reflecting the Terran origins of secondary colonist groups. Since the initial colonization Sunset has integrated more than one hundred additional sentient races and their accompanying cultures. Most of them are now highly integrated though some are either relatively new or highly insular and resistant to integration.

Region:
Sunset is the oldest of the original Martian colony nations that is still extant. Unless New Hope is still around of course. What this means is that Sunset has the advantage of an extremely long history involving the Red Planet and it's various inhabitants. It has seen many nations come and go and tends to take a long-term view of events rather than worrying about immediate consequences.

Why:
So why is Sunset a Core nation? Age (December of '02 represent!), longstanding membership in the Triumvirate of Yut, region founder, Mars forum administrator, community contributor. Seems good enough to me.

Taraskovya
Ranking: Foreign-invented ranks are not recognised in Taraskovya, as Taraskovya is uber alles und supar dupar.

If seriously, I guess somewhere around the Core: it has all the political, military and economic might of a Core nation (or so I understand), but due to my utter lack of time to RP actively the Empire is in a de facto isolasionist state. And I figure isolationism is not really a Core-ish attitude.

However, I cannot really say that I am apt to answer this question, as it would be best answered by those who more or less interact with my nation within the scope of my limited availablitiy and activity. How do they see the Empire? I admit I have little idea.

Economy:
Classical liberal with strong protectionist tendencies within areas judged of national importance. Whilst the State promotes small and middle business international trade and relations, it also follows a policy of autarchy in many "big business" areas, such as vital industrial supplies, production, primary services, etc.

Culture:
Whilst Taraskovya mainly identifies itself as a Ros (local term for Russian) and Orthodox state, culturally it is extremely diverse. There are many ethnic groups and nationalities, many religions and faiths. The macro Taraskovyan culture is organised along the lines of "Taraskovyan nationalism", which can be resumed quite simply: no matter whether you are Ros or Tarathian, Taraskovyans must stand united against the bad and unspiffy outside world! The notion of "city upon a hill" is quite strong in Taraskovyan mentality.

Region:
Spread out here and there like an ink splat. Metropoly is located in Sisgardia, a quiet, remote and cute region where everybody lives in peace and prosperity. From there on, Imperial Realms and Imperial Dominions, associate territories and protectorates, fiefs and lordships spread far and wide.

Urmania
Ranking: Semiperipheral State

Economy
Urmanian economics are not very powerful, but pretty stable. Major Urmanian imports are natural resources, like oil and uranium. Other products, like cars and clothing, are manufacturing too, but mainly for internal use.

Culture
Existing of Urmanian culture is a question. Before union of Urmanian duchies, every duchy has its own culture. After union, Urmanian culture was formed from major European influence, so "Urmanian Culture" now is a museum exhibit.

Iansisle
Ranking: Core within the Tilsitian local area; Semiperipheral in the larger world.

Economy: Relative to the other Tilsitian states, the Iansislean economy is an absolute powerhouse, even despite the tremendous recession which directly followed the revolution. In particular, the peace and stability policies of new president Nicodemo Ranalte has allowed for nearly unprecedented growth. While production numbers are still lower than pre-Revolutionary numbers, the hyper-inflation and crippling unemployment that characterized post-Revolution Iansisle have subsided and the government is also starting to contain the growth of the state's enormous debt.

In the larger world, however, Iansislean products are often disparaged or ignored. Lagging industrial technology and fierce protectionist policies cut deeply into Iansisle's trade balance with the larger world. A measure of help has been found by trading with Tilsitian nations -- which also lag behind the world in terms of technology -- and by selling products on the massive Gallagan market. However, one of President Ranalte's key issues in the decolonization of Gallaga and it is unclear whether the incoming native government will choose to remain within an Iansislean economic federation or prefer to strike at it alone, perhaps even dropping the Reproducible Technology Act and allowing access to more advanced states.

Culture: The most common adjective applied to Iansislean culture is "old-fashioned", followed closely by "backwards" and "archaic". Social mores are firmly rooted in the nineteenth century, regardless of the advancement of the rest of the world, which often leads to clashes between Iansislean statesmen and those from the outside as motivations are misunderstood by both sides.

Socially, Iansisle is extremely conservative -- even to the point of outright sexual repression. Women were only allowed the vote with the Revolution -- some seven years from the time of this writing -- and even today are considered only as homemakers. It is extremely rare to see a woman in even a relatively minor position of power in the business, political, or military worlds. Similarly, racism is deeply ingrained in the Iansislean psyche, leaving it nearly impossible to believe that a person of color -- and particularly a Gallagan -- could possibly be the equal of a Shieldian.

Compared to other NationStates, Iansislean culture is fairly uniform. There are large immigrant communities, especially in industrialized urban areas, which due to the aforementioned racism are largely unintegrated (and were the target of vigilante ethnic violence during the Revolution) and more than 200,000,000 non-Shieldian people live under Iansislean rule in the colonies, but in all these cases the ruling Iansisleans remain alien from the cultures over which they rule.

One exception to this rule has been causing a growing cultural divide in Iansisle: during the famine years of 1957 and 1958, when local crops failed and economic embargo due to the regicide cut off foreign supplies, large amounts of Gallagan food was imported to prevent starvation. This has caused a taste for the flavors of Gallaga, particularly in poor urban areas where so-called "Galler mess" was the only available nutrition. In richer semi-urban and rural areas, where Shieldian food could still be obtained, social conservatives are outraged by the displacement of traditionally bland Shieldian flavors by the spicier Gallagan and are demanding the government step in to "correct this unhealthy development" before "the youth of the Shield are incurably altered by their prolonged exposure to unsanitary, unnutritious and unShieldian foodstuffs."

Region: Iansisle proper is on the north-west corner of the Tilsitian continent. Its mainland possessions are spread around Troobodia Bay, a large inland sea, and include the Shield proper, Gadsan, Sentry Island and Dianatran. Overseas, Iansisle controls roughly 70% of the Gallagan subcontinent (the other 30% being a Klatchian-administered colony of Calarca and the nearby island of Ceyloba being a Walmingtonian viceroyalty). Its contiguous neighbors include the United Igovian Soviet Commonwealth of Wyclyfe (an enclosed enclave between Weshield and Vesshampton), the Noropian Republic (to the north; a satellite state), the Effitian Fatherland (to the east), the Empire of Tharia (to the south-west), the Empire of the Golden Quarry (to the south), and the People's Republic of Healdsburgh (to the south-east).

Within the Tilsitian system, Iansisle and Effit are the two dominant superpowers. Effit has a much larger area and slightly larger population (some 350,000,000 against about 68,000,000 Shieldians and 200,000,000 non-Shieldians), but is largely rural and disorganized. The other states are largely the pawns of the two superpowers. By the Treaty of Jameston, signed in 1957 by the two powers after a ruinous four-year war, a 250-mile swathe of territory along the border is Effitian-administered but demilitarized.

the Iansislean Gull Flag Republic fills an international role half-way between respectable power and rogue state pariah. Many states question the Republic's continuing colonialism in Gallaga, despite Ranalte's protestations that the decolonization effort is proceeding as quickly as possible. Other states accuse the Republic as being merely a facade for a Ranalte-led coup in 1959 and question the actual democratic value of its elections. Royalist states were outraged by the regicide of 1957 and old allies of the Grand Empire wish an end to the new order. Only with Lunatic Retard Robots have a completely friendly relationship ever existed, and even that is in jeopardy following rumors that the Republic used poison gas to genocide an inconvenient nomadic tribe in Dianatran.