As
we enter the third decade of the twenty-first century, the world
faces extraordinary system-level challenges—from deep inequality
and xenophobic nationalism to militarism and neofascism, from the
refugee crisis and environmental degradation to upsurges of social
unrest and escalating rivalries among powerful states. This book
begins from the premise that world-systems analysis can be a powerful
tool for the study of these problems, with the potential to overcome
the methodological and theoretical limitations of other social
science perspectives. The editors argue, moreover, that world-systems
analysis can be strengthened by drawing on its holistic
methodologies, returning to its Third World roots, and learning from
other critical approaches. The authors in this volume not only make
important contributions to comparative and historical social science,
they also bring a new vigor to the world-systems perspective. Facing
critical junctures in both the "state of knowledge" and the
"state of the world," this book demonstrates the continued
utility of, and future possibilities for, world-systems analysis.