Choose any country in the world (you may want to reference textbook readings pertaining to Political Geography and/or the Centripetal/Centrifugal PDF on Blackboard) and describe the centripetal or centrifugal forces operating within that particular place. You may discuss contemporary or historical examples of forces within a country. With regard to the country you chose to examine, what do you think is/are the most important centripetal or centrifugal forces and why? *Note: reply to all parts of the prompt.
From Rubenstein, J.M. (2016). Contemporary Human Geography (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.
p. 217
Core and Periphery
The relationship between developed countries and developing countries has been
described by Immanuel Wallerstein, a U.S. social scientist, as one of “core” and
“periphery.” According to Wallerstein’s world-systems analysis, in an increasingly
unified world economy, developed countries form an inner core area, whereas
developing countries occupy peripheral locations.
As a result, global development patterns are sometimes referred to as uneven
development, with countries at the core benefiting at the expense of countries on the
periphery. The unorthodox north polar map projection in Figure 9.4.5 emphasizes the
central role that developed countries play in the world economy. North America,
Europe, and Japan account for a high percentage of the world’s economic activity and
wealth. Developing countries in the periphery have less access to the world centers of
consumption, communications, wealth, and power, which are clustered in the core.
The unorthodox projection in Figure 9.4.5 also shows connections between particular
core and periphery regions. The development prospects of Latin America are tied to
governments and businesses primarily in North America, those of Africa to Europe, and
those of Asia to Japan and, to a lesser extent, Europe and North America. As countries
like China, India, and Brazil develop, relationships between core and periphery are
changing, and the line between core and periphery may need to be redrawn.