AP Human Geography

1. AP Human Geography CORE-PERIPHERY (Wallerstein’s World System Theory)

2. Core-periphery model A model seeking to explain a spatial pattern of economic growth in which one center or region in a country or region develops an economic advantage over the rest of the country or region. Several have been proposed

3. Is the idea of economic development inherently Western? If the West (North America and Europe) were not encouraging the “developing world” to “develop,” how would people in the regions of the “developing world” think about their own economies?

4. Core-Periphery Model • John Friedmann (1966) • World can be divided into: • Core:industrialized cities and areas around the world that are hubs for social and economic activity • Semi-Periphery (Transitional):developing areas that strive to reach core status, but can be left out by the power of the core • Periphery: locations and countries that are at the mercy of core countries and often support the economic success of these areas **Most PERIPHERY are trying to get to transitional, but are forced to remain periphery

5. Three Tier Structure Core Processes that incorporate higher levels of education, higher salaries, and more technology * Generate more wealth in the world economy Semi-periphery Places where core and periphery processes are both occurring. Places that are exploited by the core but then exploit the periphery. * Serves as a buffer between core and periphery Periphery Processes that incorporate lower levels of education, lower salaries, and less technology * Generate less wealth in the world economy

6. Location of More and Less Developed Countries Development generally reflects a North-South split in the world.

8. Core and Periphery in World Economy Fig. 9-25: This north polar projection of the world shows that most of the MDCs are in a core area north of 30° N latitude. The LDCs are mostly on the periphery of this map.

9. Wallerstein’s World Systems Theory • The redistribution of resources (natural or human) from periphery to transitional and core areas • World Systems theories can help explain slow development, migratory patterns, economic advantages, etc.

10. Mackinder’s Heartland Rimland Theory

11. Heartland/Rimland • Heartland – core of a location or continent • Originally the core of Eurasia (Eastern Europe) • The one who controls this region can control the world • All heartlands share similarities (U.S. heartland vs. Eastern Europe vs. Central India) • Rimland – areas surrounding heartlands • Usually have limited access to the heartlands and cultures are very different • Border sealands and/or maritime regions

12. Take an item of clothing out of your closet, and using the Internet, try to trace the commodity chain of production. What steps did the item go through before reaching you? Consider whether core or peripheral processes were operating at each step and consider the roles governments and international political regimes played along each step.