The World-System in 2025

Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject Politics - Political Theory and the History of Ideas Journal, grade: A, Stellenbosch Universitiy, course: Comparative Political Economy, language: English, abstract: The primary aim of this paper is to provide a detailed analysis of the manner in which important current trends will shape the future of the division of labour and the world system as a whole. The implications of the major political (loss of sovereignty), technological, cultural (globalisation vs. identity), environmental (population growth) and economic trends that the current generation faces will be considered; thereafter looking at its impact on the global division of labour. This will be followed by a thorough analysis of what the nature and structure of the world system will look like in 2025. The paper will end off with a prediction of what the balance of power in the system will be around this time, looking at several candidates for possible hegemony. The argument posed in this essay is that the world system is undergoing a transitional phase, whereby the system could potentially collapse and be replaced by another one, although this is not likely to occur as early as 2025. The other argument is that the ushering in of a new hegemon is a lengthy process, one that will probably not have taken root by this time; thus 2025 will almost certainly be characterized by a multipolar system. [...]