Review of Thomas Richard Shannon, AN INTRODUCTION TO THE WORLD-SYSTEM PERSPECTIVE Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1989. Stephen K. Sanderson Indiana University of Pennsylvania NOTE: This is a shortened version of a review originally published in TEACHING SOCIOLOGY, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 410-11, 1990. The original cannot be put on this electronic archive because of copyright restrictions. Please consult that review if you want more detailed information. I have used Shannon's book three times as a text for a course I teach entitled World Societies and World Systems. The book is far from perfect, but it is a very suitable introduction to world-systems analysis for undergraduates. The book is clearly and simply written and covers virtually all the essentials. It also has a very good summary of the major criticisms of world- systems analysis, although it seems far too willing to accept many of these criticisms at face value. That is a minor problem, however, and can easily be worked around. The book is remarkably brief (less than 200 pages), but it does its job well. This brevity can be an important strength in allowing professors to use several other books along with Shannon. Chapter 1 provides background on Marxian theory, dependency theory, and Braudelian historiography. The discussion of Marxian theory is weak, but the other discussions are adequate. Shannon has a good grasp of the intellectual currents that came together in Wallerstein's original formulation of world-systems theory. Chapter 2 outlines the nature of capitalism as conceived by world-systems theorists. Shannon discusses the capitalist world- economy and the interstate system as the twin pillars of the modern world-system. Most of the discussion in this chapter focuses on the nature of the core, periphery, and semiperiphery and their interrelationships. Chapters 3 and 4 sketch the historical evolution of the capitalist world-system from the sixteenth century down to the present. Shannon has constructed maps of the world-system for four time periods: 1560, 1763, 1900, and the late 1980s. The maps for 1560, 1763, and 1900 each contain all three capitalist zones, while for the present period there are three maps devoted to, respectively, the core, periphery, and semiperiphery. The maps are adequate, although nearly everyone will have at least some objections to the way they are constructed. In defense of Shannon, it is probably impossible to construct maps that couldn't be picked at in some way. Chapter 5 looks at the dynamics of the world-system. Here we are introduced to the basic characteristics of the "broadening" (expansion) and "deepening" (evolution) of capitalist relations of production on a global scale. In addition to discussing these dynamics -- what I would call the "evolutionary dynamics" of the capitalist world-system -- Shannon also looks at the cyclical trends said to be characteristic of the world-system: Kondratiev cycles, the rise and fall of hegemonic powers, and all that. There is a nice discussion of the factors governing the ascent and decline of nation-states within the world-system. Chapter 6 explores the many criticisms that have been made of world-systems theory, and it does so in a surprising amount of detail for such a short book. The basic criticisms discussed are: * economic reductionism * an "exogenist" bias * an incapacity to demonstrate the actual operation of unequal exchange * exaggeration of the importance of the periphery for development in the core * incorrect identification of a trend toward absolute immiseration of the periphery * dubious inclusion of the socialist states within the capitalist world-system * highly selective and often distorted historical interpretations * a highly functionalist, teleological mode of argument * an "overtotalizing" conception of the world-system. Shannon generally remains neutral toward most of these criticisms, although in some cases he does take a stance. In the final chapter Shannon seems to pull the props out from under us. He suggests that world-systems theory is provocative, but that it is nonetheless badly flawed and does not offer a truly adequate perspective on modern social change. As an alternative, Shannon basically recommends a neo-Weberian approach that gives much more attention to the independent role of politics in the structuring of the modern world. This is not my own position, and so in my World Societies and World Systems class I try to engage in a direct assessment of Shannon's evaluation of the criticisms. Many other teachers of courses on world-systems analysis will likely wish to do the same. Otherwise, what kind of message does it give our students? I find Shannon's last chapter rather frustrating. This book is obviously intended as a textbook, and so what sense does it make for an author to undermine the very perspective he is supposed to be introducing? One would expect Shannon's book to engage in advocacy, perhaps even strong advocacy, of the world- systems perspective. But not to worry. Shannon's book is good enough so that thoughtful instructors can easily rectify the potential damage done in the final chapter. In sum, I highly recommend this book to university teachers of courses on world-systems theory, or courses that include world-systems analysis as a significant component. The best book available that summarizes world-systems theory and its accomplishments, limitations, difficulties, and unanswered questions is Chris Chase-Dunn's GLOBAL FORMATION (Blackwell, 1989). However, that book is too intellectually sophisticated for most undergraduate students, at least in the United States (although it must be quite suitable for many graduate-level courses). Shannon is much more accessible for the average undergraduate audience.