View source for Core countries

{{Short description|Industrialized/developed countries}}
[[File:World trade map.svg|thumb|428x428px|A world map of countries by their supposed [[International trade#Largest countries or regions by total international trade|trading status]] in 2000, using the world system differentiation into core countries (blue), semi-periphery countries (yellow) and periphery countries (red). Based on the list in Chase-Dunn, Kawana, and Brewer (2000).<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Chase-Dunn |first1=Christopher |last2=Kawano |first2=Yukio |last3=Brewer |first3=Benjamin D. |date=2000 |title=Trade Globalization since 1795: Waves of Integration in the World-System |journal=American Sociological Review |volume=65 |issue=1 |pages=77–95 |doi=10.2307/2657290 |jstor=2657290 |s2cid=147609071 |issn=0003-1224 |author1-link=Christopher Chase-Dunn}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20220305181504/https://www.irows.ucr.edu/cd/appendices/asr00/asr00app.htm See appendix with the country list ("Table A2")]. Some countries with a population of less than one million were excluded from the analysis.</ref>]]
[[File:World trade map 1965.png|thumb|428x428px|A world map of countries in 1965 colour-coded into 'blocks' based on trade, military interventions, diplomats and treaties:<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Snyder |first1=David |last2=Kick |first2=Edward L. |date=1979-03-01 |title=Structural Position in the World System and Economic Growth, 1955–1970: A Multiple-Network Analysis of Transnational Interactions |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/226902 |journal=American Journal of Sociology |volume=84 |issue=5 |pages=1096–1126 |doi=10.1086/226902 |s2cid=144895613 |issn=0002-9602 |access-date=2022-04-08 |archive-date=2022-04-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408033741/https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/226902 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> {{Legend|#e41a1c|Block A}} {{Legend|#4daf4a|Block B}} {{Legend|#377eb8|Block C & with dashed lines indicates colonies of Block C countries}} {{Legend|#74a9cf|Block C'}} {{Legend|#ff7f00|Block D}} {{Legend|#feb24c|Block D'}} {{Legend|#984ea3|Block E}} {{Legend|#8c6bb1|Block E'}} {{Legend|#35978f|Block F}} {{Legend|#80cdc1|Block F'}}]]
{{International relations theory sidebar}}

In [[world-systems theory]], '''core countries''' or the '''imperial core'''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Worker |first=Arkansas |date=2022-02-14 |title=What “Free” Education Costs in the Imperial Core |url=https://arkansasworker.com/what-free-education-costs-in-the-imperial-core/ |access-date=2025-06-14 |website=Arkansas Worker |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-06-09 |title=The End of an Empire: Systemic Decay and the Economic Foundation of American Fascism |url=https://www.hamptonthink.org/read/the-end-of-an-empire-systemic-decay-and-the-economic-foundation-of-american-fascism |access-date=2025-06-14 |website=Hampton Institute |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Calvete |first=Carlos Perona |date=2024-02-01 |title=Revolt of the Core |url=https://europeanconservative.com/articles/essay/revolt-of-the-core/ |access-date=2025-06-14 |website=europeanconservative.com |language=en-US}}</ref> are the [[Industrialization|industrialized]] [[Capitalism|capitalist]] and/or [[Imperialism|imperialist]] countries. Core countries control and benefit the most resources from the [[global market]]. They are usually recognized as [[Countries by nominal GDP|wealthy states]] with a wide variety of resources and are in a favorable location compared to other states. They have strong state institutions, a powerful military, and powerful global political alliances. In the 20th-21st centuries they consist of [[Australia]], [[New Zealand]], [[Canada]], [[Western Europe|Western European countries]], [[Japan]], the [[United Kingdom]], and the [[United States]].<ref name=essentials/> The population of the core countries is on average by far the [[Countries by nominal GDP|wealthiest]] of the world, with the [[List of countries by life expectancy|highest life expectancy]], [[List of countries by literacy rate|literacy rate]], [[Education Index|best education]] and [[List of countries by social welfare spending|social welfare]] on the planet.<ref name=essentials/>

Core countries do not always stay "core" permanently. Throughout [[world history]], core countries have been changing, and new ones have been added to the "core" list. These were the [[Asia]]n, [[Indian subcontinent|Indian]], and [[Middle Eastern]] empires in the ages up to the 16th century; prominently [[Medieval India]] and the [[Chinese Empire]], which were the richest regions in the world until the [[Early modern Europe|European]] [[Great power|Great Powers]] took the lead during the [[early modern period]], although the major Asian powers were still very influential in the region. Europe remained ahead of the pack until the 20th century, when the two [[World Wars]] were disastrous for the European economies. It was then that the victorious [[United States]] and [[Soviet Union]], up to the late 1980s, became the two [[Hegemony|hegemonic powers]], creating a bipolar [[New world order (politics)|world order]] during the [[Cold War]]. After 1991, the [[collapse of the Soviet Union]] left the United States as the world’s sole remaining superpower, sometimes referred to as a [[hyperpower]].

== Definition ==
Core countries control and profit the most from the [[World-systems theory|world socio-economic and political system]], and thus they are the "core" of the [[Global market|world economic system]]. These countries can exercise control over other countries or groups of countries by military, economic, and political means.

In the 20th-21st centuries, [[Australia]], [[New Zealand]], [[Canada]], [[Western Europe|Western European countries]], [[Japan]], the [[United Kingdom]], and the [[United States]] are considered examples of present core countries that have the most power in the [[Global market|world economic system]].<ref name=essentials>Margaret L. Andersen, Howard Francis Taylor. ''Sociology:the essentials''. Cengage Learning. February 2006.[https://books.google.com/books?id=X7s9hvROWjoC&dq=sociology+core+countries&pg=PA218 Link to Google Books].</ref>

==Throughout history==
===Pre–13th century===
[[File:Silk route.jpg|thumb|300px|right|The [[Silk Road]] extending from [[Southern Europe]] through [[Arabia]], [[History of Somalia#Medieval|Somalia]], [[Egypt in the Middle Ages|Egypt]], [[History of Iran|Persia]], the [[Middle East]], [[Central Asia]], the [[Indian subcontinent]], and [[History of Southeast Asia#Early historical era|Southeast Asia]] until it reaches the [[Chinese Empire]] (land routes are red, water routes are blue).]] 

In [[Asia]], the [[Chinese Empire]] was considered the "Middle Kingdom" and controlled the region.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=sLxL3FkqCpIC&dq=chinese%20empire&pg=PA5  Steele, P. ''The Chinese Empire''. p.6]</ref> The two empires communicated and traded through the [[Silk Road]], which takes its name from the extensive trade of [[Chinese silk]].<ref>Wood, F. ''The Silk Road: Two Thousand Years in the Heart of Asia''. p.36 [https://archive.org/details/silkroadtwothous0000wood <!-- quote=from greece and rome to china. -->]</ref> The period of [[History of China#Imperial China|Imperial China lasted more than two millennia]], connecting ancient and modern history. Although [[Dynasties of China|Chinese dynasties or empires]] rose and fell during those centuries, including during periods of strife and war, Imperial China endured with remarkable constancy.<ref>{{Cite book|title = The Shadows of Empire|editor = Samir Puri|publisher = Pegasus Books|year = 2021|isbn = 9781643136691|page = 106}}</ref> The defining characteristics of all Chinese empires were their large scale and the diversity of their peoples.<ref>{{Cite book|title = The Early Chinese Empires: Qin and Han|editor = Mark Edward Lewis|publisher = Harvard University Press|year = 2010|page = 2}}</ref>

Originally emerged as a loose collection of various Han Chinese-speaking entities during the [[Warring States period]], the [[Qin's wars of unification]] brought most of the ''[[Huaxia]]'' realm into [[Qin dynasty|one single dynasty]], establishing Qin as the first imperial dynasty in 221 BCE, the year where the first Chinese Empire was established.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Qin-Shi-Huang | title=Qin Shi Huang &#124; Biography, Accomplishments, Family, United China, Tomb, & Facts &#124; Britannica | date=8 April 2024 | access-date=16 April 2024 | archive-date=20 July 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210720132654/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Qin-Shi-Huang | url-status=live }}</ref> Imperial China would continue to expand even after the collapse of the Qin dynasty, with the [[Han dynasty]] expanding to the north, south and west.<ref name=hanexpansion>{{cite book | chapter-url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/early-china/expansion-and-political-transition-of-the-han-empire/D876A79D835304F5E068882D0D639D46 | doi=10.1017/CBO9781139034395.015 | chapter=Expansion and political transition of the Han Empire | title=Early China | series=New Approaches to Asian History | date=2013 | pages=256–281 | publisher=Cambridge University Press | isbn=978-0-521-89552-1 }}</ref> During the [[Tang dynasty]] four centuries later, China achieved a golden age in terms of its economic, military and political power. Tang's territory spanned [[Central Asia]], [[Northeast Asia]], and parts of [[Southeast Asia]], until the dynasty ended following the [[An Lushan rebellion]] in the 8th century CE.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.ushistory.org/civ/9d.asp |title=Archived copy |access-date=16 April 2024 |archive-date=9 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240509130138/https://www.ushistory.org/civ/9d.asp |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | url=https://cedar.wwu.edu/easpress/6/ | doi=10.25710/vs3m-gw59 | date=1997 | last1=Pan | first1=Yihong | title=Son of Heaven and Heavenly Qaghan: Sui-Tang China and its Neighbors | journal=East Asian Studies Press | volume=Studies on East Asia, Volume 20 | publisher=Center for East Asian Studies, Western Washington University | access-date=16 April 2024 | archive-date=6 June 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240606023554/https://cedar.wwu.edu/easpress/6/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://contents.nahf.or.kr/english/item/level.do?levelId=iscd_003e_0030_0040 | title=Northeast Asian History Network | access-date=16 April 2024 | archive-date=9 May 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240509130146/http://contents.nahf.or.kr/english/item/level.do?levelId=iscd_003e_0030_0040 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.historyhaven.com/APWH/unit2/Sinification_of_East_and_Southeast_Asia.htm | title=Sinification of East and Southeast Asia }}</ref> Imperial China marked its revival under the Mongol-based [[Yuan dynasty]], when [[Inner Asia]]n territories such as [[Tibet]] and [[Mongolia]] were incorporated. The [[Qing dynasty]], founded three centuries after the fall of the Yuan dynasty, [[Legacy of the Qing dynasty|laid ground to most of China's modern border]] with [[Qing dynasty in Inner Asia|its re-expansion into Inner Asia]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zcjrbqt | title=Overview and expansion of the Qing dynasty - the Qing dynasty - KS3 History - homework help for year 7, 8 and 9 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://asia-archive.si.edu/learn/for-educators/teaching-china-with-the-smithsonian/explore-by-dynasty/qing-dynasty/ | title=Qing dynasty (1644–1911) | access-date=16 April 2024 | archive-date=10 October 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231010125546/https://asia-archive.si.edu/learn/for-educators/teaching-china-with-the-smithsonian/explore-by-dynasty/qing-dynasty/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

Until the 13th century [[Medieval India]], often referred to as "[[Greater India]]", extended its religious, cultural, and trading influence on vast Asian regions, from [[History of Iran|Persia]] and [[Central Asia]] to [[Cambodia]], [[Indonesia]], the [[Malaysian Archipelago]], and [[Sri Lanka]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oTw-nwEACAAJ|title=India and Malaysia: Intertwined Strands|first=Veena|last=Sikri|date=16 December 2017|publisher=Manohar Publications|isbn=9789350980163|via=Google Books}}</ref> With [[Buddhism]] and [[Hinduism]], two of the most followed religions in Asia and the world as a whole, having originated there, India's cultural impact spread throughout Asia. A notable example is Imperial China, where [[Chinese Buddhism|Buddhism became the prominent religion]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hftlEEV1J1oC|title=Buddhism in Chinese History|first=Arthur F.|last=Wright|date=16 December 2017|publisher=Stanford University Press|isbn=9780804705462|via=Google Books}}</ref> [[Sanskrit]] was a prominent scholarly language in all the [[Southeast Asia|Southeastern kingdoms]] until the 10th century CE. [[Angkor Wat]] in Cambodia, the largest temple complex in the world, was originally a Hindu temple and later transformed into a Buddhist monastery.

===Middle Ages to the early modern period===

====Mongol Empire====
{{main|Mongol invasions and conquests}}
{{further|Destruction under the Mongol Empire|Slave trade in the Mongol Empire}}
[[File:Mongol Empire map.gif|thumb|300px|right|Expansion of the [[Mongol Empire]] (1206–1368)]]

The ''[[Pax Mongolica]]'' is a particularly important period which started in 1206 and ended, according to contradicting sources, between late 14th and early 15th centuries. The trade during this period took on a truly multi-continental dimension, efficient and safe trade routes were established, and many of the modern rules of trade were emerging. The [[Mongol Empire]] was the [[List of largest empires|largest contiguous empire in world history]]. It stretched from as far east as [[Medieval China]] all the way to the [[Eurasian Steppe]], taking up large parts of [[Central Asia]], the [[Middle East]], and the [[Indian subcontinent]].<ref name="O'Brien">[https://books.google.com/books?id=ffZy5tDjaUkC&dq=mongolian+empire&pg=PA98 O'Brien, P.K. ''Atlas of World History'' p.98]</ref>

Many trade routes went through the Mongol territories, even though they were not the easiest ones to travel, due to the rough Asian terrain. Yet, they attracted many merchants, because these routes were relatively cheap and safe to travel.<ref>Abu—Lughod, J.L. ''Before European Hegemony: The World System A.D. 1250—1350'' p.154 [https://archive.org/details/beforeeuropeanhe00abul_1 <!-- quote=before european hegemony. -->]</ref> The [[Mongols]] controlled their territories through military force and taxation. In many former regions of the Mongol Empire, its rule is [[Destruction under the Mongol Empire|remembered as brutal and destructive]] to this day. Yet, some argue that many economic and cultural improvements were made during the Mongol rule.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.silk-road.com/artl/paxmongolica.shtml|title=Pax Mongolica|first=Silkroad Foundation, Adela C.Y.|last=Lee|website=www.silk-road.com|access-date=2010-06-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990505194222/http://www.silk-road.com/artl/paxmongolica.shtml|archive-date=1999-05-05|url-status=dead}}</ref>

====Arab and Middle Eastern empires====
{{main|Arab slave trade|Barbary slave trade|History of slavery|Indian Ocean slave trade}}
{{further|History of slavery in the Muslim world|Slavery in the Ottoman Empire|Turkish Abductions|Zanzibar slave trade}}
[[File:Ottomans 1875.png|thumb|300px|left|[[Administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire|Territorial extent]] of the [[Ottoman Empire]] in 1875, right before the [[Great Eastern Crisis]]]]

The [[Ottoman Empire]], which emerged in 1299, quickly became a power to be reckoned with. By 1450, the Ottoman Empire took up the connecting territory between the [[Black Sea|Black]] and [[Mediterranean seas]]. Despite lasting three times longer than the Mongol Empire, the Ottoman Empire never came to be anywhere near as expansive.<ref>Finkel, C. ''Osman's Dream: The Story of the Ottoman Empire, 1300—1923'' p.3 [https://books.google.com/books?id=maT_XL3mgxwC&dq=ottoman%20empire&pg=PA5]</ref>

The [[Arab slave trade]] supplied the [[early Muslim conquests]] throughout the [[Arab world|Arab]]-[[Muslim world]] from the 7th to the 20th centuries,<ref name="LaRue 2023">{{cite encyclopedia |author-last=La Rue |author-first=George M. |date=17 August 2023 |title=Indian Ocean and Middle Eastern Slave Trades |url=https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/display/document/obo-9780199846733/obo-9780199846733-0051.xml |encyclopedia=[[Oxford Bibliographies Online]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=[[Oxford]] and [[New York City|New York]] |doi=10.1093/OBO/9780199846733-0051 |access-date=6 February 2024|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="Freamon 2019">{{cite book |author-last=Freamon |author-first=Bernard K. |year=2019 |chapter=The "Mamluk/Ghulam Phenomenon" – Slave Sultans, Soldiers, Eunuchs, and Concubines |editor-last=Freamon |editor-first=Bernard K. |title=Possessed by the Right Hand: The Problem of Slavery in Islamic Law and Muslim Cultures |location=[[Leiden]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |series=Studies in Global Slavery |volume=8 |pages=219–244 |doi=10.1163/9789004398795_006 |isbn=978-90-04-36481-3 |s2cid=191690007 |quote=[[Ibn Khaldun]] argued that in the midst of the decadence that became the hallmark of the later [[Abbasid Caliphate]], providence restored the "glory and the unity" of the Islamic faith by sending the Mamluks: "loyal  helpers, who were brought from the House of War to the House of Islam under the rule of slavery, which hides in itself a divine blessing." His expression of the idea that slavery, considered to be a degrading social condition to be avoided at all costs, might  contain "a divine blessing", was the most articulate expression of [[Islamic views on slavery|Muslim thinking on slavery]] since the [[Early history of Islam|early days of Islam]]. Ibn Khaldun's general observation about the paradoxical nature of slavery brings to mind [[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel|Hegel]]'s reflections on the subject some five hundred years later. The great philosopher observed that, in many instances, it is the slave who ultimately gains the independent consciousness and power to become the actual master of his or her owner. The Mamluk/Ghulam Phenomenon is a good historical example of this paradox.}}</ref><ref name="Stowasser 1984">{{cite journal |author-last=Stowasser |author-first=Karl |date=1984 |title=Manners and Customs at the Mamluk Court |journal=[[Muqarnas (journal)|Muqarnas]] |volume=2 |issue=The Art of the Mamluks |location=[[Leiden]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |pages=13–20 |doi=10.2307/1523052 |jstor=1523052 |issn=0732-2992 |s2cid=191377149 |quote=The Mamluk slave warriors, with an empire extending from [[Libya]] to the [[Euphrates]], from [[Cilicia]] to the [[Arabian Sea]] and the [[Sudan]], remained for the next two hundred years the most formidable power of the [[Eastern Mediterranean]] and the [[Indian Ocean]] – champions of [[Sunni orthodoxy]], guardians of [[Holiest sites in Islam|Islam's holy places]], their capital, Cairo, the seat of the Sunni caliph and a magnet for scholars, artists, and craftsmen uprooted by the [[Mongol invasions and conquests|Mongol upheaval in the East]] or drawn to it from all parts of the Muslim world by its wealth and prestige. Under their rule, Egypt passed through a period of prosperity and brilliance unparalleled since the days of the [[Ptolemies]]. [...] They ruled as a [[military]] [[aristocracy]], aloof and almost totally isolated from the native population, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, and their ranks had to be replenished in each generation through fresh imports of slaves from abroad. Only those who had grown up outside Muslim territory and who entered as slaves in the service either of the [[sultan]] himself or of one of the Mamluk [[emir]]s were eligible for membership and careers within their closed military caste. The offspring of Mamluks were free-born Muslims and hence excluded from the system: they became the ''awlād al-nās'', the "sons of respectable people", who either fulfilled scribal and administrative functions or served as commanders of the non-Mamluk ''ḥalqa'' troops. Some two thousand slaves were imported annually: [[Kipchaks|Qipchaq]], [[Azeris]], [[Uzbeks|Uzbec Turks]], [[Mongols]], [[Pannonian Avars|Avars]], [[Circassians]], [[Georgians]], [[Armenians]], [[Greeks]], [[Bulgars]], [[Albanians]], [[Serbs]], [[Hungarians]].}}</ref> peaking in the 18th and 19th centuries. This term, which covers the Arab-Muslim slave trade, is symmetrical with the term "Western slave trade", which refers to the [[triangular trade]] on the [[West Africa|Western coasts of Africa]] that supplied the [[European colonization of the Americas]], and which includes the [[Atlantic slave trade]].<ref>{{cite book |author-last=Green |author-first=Toby |year=2012 |chapter=Part Two: Creolisation and Slavery – The Early Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade from Western Africa |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wRM2aO9xey0C&pg=PA177 |title=The Rise of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade in Western Africa, 1300–1589 |pages=177–207 |location=[[Cambridge]] and [[New York City|New York]] |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |doi=10.1017/CBO9781139016407.011 |isbn=978-1-107-01436-7 |lccn=2011015312}}</ref>

[[File:Slavezanzibar2.JPG|thumb|upright=0.8|A photograph of a [[Zanzibar slave trade|slave boy]] in the [[Sultanate of Zanzibar]]: ''An Arab master's punishment for a slight offence'' ({{circa|1890}}). From at least the 1860s onwards, photography was a powerful weapon in the abolitionist arsenal.]]
The slaves of the Eastern slave trade came mainly from [[Sub-Saharan Africa]], [[Northwestern Africa]], [[Southern Europe]], [[Slavic countries]], the [[Caucasus]], and the [[Indian subcontinent]], and were imported by the Arab-Muslim slave traders into the [[Middle East and North Africa]], the [[Horn of Africa]], and the islands of the [[Indian Ocean]].<ref name="LaRue 2023"/> For centuries, Arab-Muslim slave traders took and transported an estimated 10 to 15 million native [[Demographics of Africa|African]]s to slavery throughout the [[Arab world|Arab]]-[[Muslim world]]. They also [[White slavery|enslaved Europeans]] (known as ''[[Saqaliba]]''), as well as [[Peoples of the Caucasus|Caucasian]] and [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] peoples, from coastal areas of the [[Mediterranean Region]], the [[Balkans]], [[Central Asia]], and the [[Eurasian steppes]].<ref name="Stowasser 1984"/><ref name="Levanoni 2010">{{cite book |last=Levanoni |first=Amalia |year=2010 |chapter=PART II: EGYPT AND SYRIA (ELEVENTH CENTURY UNTIL THE OTTOMAN CONQUEST) – The Mamlūks in Egypt and Syria: the Turkish Mamlūk sultanate (648–784/1250–1382) and the Circassian Mamlūk sultanate (784–923/1382–1517) |editor-last=Fierro |editor-first=Maribel |title=The New Cambridge History of Islam, Volume 2: The Western Islamic World, Eleventh to Eighteenth Centuries |location=[[Cambridge]] and [[New York City|New York]] |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |pages=237–284 |doi=10.1017/CHOL9780521839570.010 |isbn=978-1-139-05615-1 |quote=The Arabic term ''mamlūk'' literally means 'owned' or 'slave', and was used for the [[White people|White]] [[Turkish people|Turkish]] [[History of slavery in the Muslim world|slaves]] of [[Turkic mythology|Pagan origins]], purchased from [[Central Asia]] and the [[Eurasian steppes]] by [[Islam and politics|Muslim rulers]] to serve as soldiers in their armies. Mamlūk units formed an integral part of Muslim armies from the third/ninth century, and Mamlūk involvement in government became an increasingly familiar occurrence in the [[Middle Ages|medieval]] [[Middle East]]. The road to absolute rule lay open before them [[Egypt in the Middle Ages|in Egypt]] when the Mamlūk establishment gained military and political domination during the reign of the [[Ayyubid dynasty|Ayyūbid ruler of Egypt]], al-Ṣāliḥ Ayyūb (r. 637–47/1240–9).}}</ref><ref name="OxfordBusinessGroup">{{cite web |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Warrior kings: A look at the history of the Mamluks |url=https://oxfordbusinessgroup.com/overview/warrior-kings-look-history-mamluks |year=2012 |work=The Report – Egypt 2012: The Guide |publisher=Oxford Business Group |pages=332–334 |access-date=1 March 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200925104321/https://oxfordbusinessgroup.com/overview/warrior-kings-look-history-mamluks |archive-date=25 September 2020 |quote=The Mamluks, who descended from non-Arab [[History of slavery in the Muslim world|slaves]] who were naturalised to serve and fight for ruling Arab dynasties, are revered as some of the greatest warriors the world has ever known. Although the word ''mamluk'' translates as "one who is owned", the Mamluk soldiers proved otherwise, gaining a powerful military standing in [[Muslim world|various Muslim societies]], particularly [[Egypt in the Middle Ages|in Egypt]]. They would also go on to hold political power for several centuries during a period known as the [[Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt]]. [...] Before the Mamluks rose to power, there was a [[History of slavery in the Muslim world|long history of slave soldiers in the Middle East]], with many recruited into Arab armies by the [[Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasid rulers]] of [[Baghdad]] in the ninth century. The tradition was continued by the dynasties that followed them, including the [[Fatimids]] and [[Ayyubids]] (it was the Fatimids who built the foundations of what is now Islamic [[Cairo]]). For centuries, the rulers of the Arab world recruited men from the lands of the [[Caucasus]] and [[Central Asia]]. It is hard to discern the precise ethnic background of the Mamluks, given that they came from a number of ethnically mixed regions, but most are thought to have been [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] (mainly [[Kipchaks|Kipchak]] and [[Cumans|Cuman]]) or [[Peoples of the Caucasus|from the Caucasus]] (predominantly [[Circassians|Circassian]], but also [[Armenians|Armenian]] and [[Georgians|Georgian]]). The Mamluks [[Conscription#Military slavery|were recruited forcibly to reinforce the armies]] of Arab rulers. As outsiders, they had no local loyalties, and would thus fight for whoever owned them, not unlike [[mercenaries]]. Furthermore, the Turks and Circassians had a ferocious reputation as warriors. The slaves were either purchased or abducted as boys, around the age of 13, and brought to the cities, most notably to Cairo and its [[Cairo Citadel|Citadel]]. Here [[Forced conversion#Islam|they would be converted to Islam]] and would be put through a rigorous military training regime that focused particularly on [[horsemanship]]. A code of behaviour not too dissimilar to that of the [[Medieval Europe|European knights]]' [[Code of Chivalry]] was also inculcated and was known as ''[[Furusiyya]]''. As in many military establishments to this day the authorities sought to instil an esprit de corps and a sense of duty among the young men. The Mamluks would have to live separately from the local populations in their garrisons, which included the Citadel and [[Rhoda Island]], also in Cairo.}}</ref>

The [[Slavery in the Ottoman Empire|slave trade in the Ottoman Empire]] supplied the ranks of the [[Army of the classical Ottoman Empire|Ottoman army]] between the 15th and 19th centuries.<ref name="Ágoston-Masters 2009">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Ágoston |first=Gábor |year=2009 |editor1-last=Ágoston |editor1-first=Gábor |editor2-first=Bruce |editor2-last=Masters |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire |chapter=Devşirme (Devshirme) |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QjzYdCxumFcC&pg=PA183 |location=[[New York City|New York]] |publisher=[[Facts On File]] |pages=183–185 |isbn=978-0-8160-6259-1 |lccn=2008020716 |access-date=16 September 2024}}</ref><ref name="Glassé 2008">{{cite book |editor-last=Glassé |editor-first=Cyril |year=2008 |chapter=Devşirme |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=focLrox-frUC&pg=PA115 |title=The New Encyclopedia of Islam |location=[[Lanham, Maryland]] |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |edition=3rd |page=115 |isbn=978-1-4422-2348-6 |quote='''Devshirme.''' The [[Military slavery|conscription system]] used by the [[Ottoman Turks|Ottomans]]. It consisted of taking male children from [[Dhimmi|subject]] [[Christianity in the Ottoman Empire|Christian populations]], chiefly in the [[Balkans]], [[Forced conversion#Islam|forcibly converting them to Islam]], and raising them to join the ranks of an elite military corps, the Janissaries, or to enter [[Ottoman government|other branches of government service]]. The [[Devşirme|boy-levy]] (''devshirme'') was carried out largely by force, but to be taken by it held out such promise of a brilliant future that Ottomans sometimes tried to slip their own children into it. [[List of Ottoman grand viziers|Many of the Viziers]] came from the higher levels of the pageboy training. At first every fifth boy was drafted in a levy carried out every four or five years, but later every able-bodied boy between the ages of ten and fifteen was liable to be taken in a draft carried out annually. The ''devshirme'' system became obsolete in the 17th century.}}</ref><ref name="Wittek 1955">{{cite journal |last=Wittek |first=Paul |date=1955 |title=Devs̱ẖirme and s̱ẖarī'a |journal=[[Bulletin of the School of Oriental & African Studies]] |location=[[Cambridge]] |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] on behalf of the [[School of Oriental and African Studies]], [[University of London]] |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=271–278 |doi=10.1017/S0041977X00111735 |jstor=610423 |s2cid=153615285 |oclc=427969669}}</ref> They were useful in preventing both the [[slave rebellion]]s and the [[Decline and modernization of the Ottoman Empire|breakup of the Empire itself]], especially due to the [[Rise of nationalism in the Ottoman Empire|rising tide of nationalism among European peoples]] in its Balkan provinces from the 17th century onwards.<ref name="Ágoston-Masters 2009"/> Along with the Balkans, the [[Black Sea Region]] remained a significant source of high-value slaves for the Ottomans.<ref name="Fynn-Paul 2023">{{cite encyclopedia |author-last=Fynn-Paul |author-first=Jeffrey |date=23 June 2023 |title=Slavery and the Slave Trade, 1350–1650 |url=https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/display/document/obo-9780195399301/obo-9780195399301-0515.xml |encyclopedia=[[Oxford Bibliographies Online]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=[[Oxford]] and [[New York City|New York]] |doi=10.1093/obo/9780195399301-0515 |isbn=978-0-19-539930-1 |access-date=18 September 2024|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Throughout the 16th to 19th centuries, the [[Barbary coast|Barbary States]] sent [[Barbary pirates|pirates to raid]] nearby parts of Europe [[History of slavery in the Muslim world|in order to capture Christian slaves to sell]] at [[Barbary slave trade|slave markets]] in the [[Muslim world]], primarily in [[North Africa]] and the [[Slavery in the Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Empire]], throughout the [[Renaissance]] and [[early modern period]].<ref name="bbc.co.uk">{{cite news |last1=Davis |first1=Robert |title=BBC - History - British History in depth: British Slaves on the Barbary Coast |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/empire_seapower/white_slaves_01.shtml |access-date=18 July 2023 |work=www.bbc.co.uk |date=17 February 2011}}</ref> According to historian Robert Davis, from the 16th to 19th centuries, Barbary pirates captured 1 million to 1.25 million Europeans as slaves, although these numbers are disputed.<ref name="bbc.co.uk" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/mar/11/highereducation.books|title=New book reopens old arguments about slave raids on Europe|last1=Carroll|first1=Rory|date=2004-03-11|work=The Guardian|access-date=2017-12-11|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> These slaves were captured mainly from the crews of captured vessels,<ref>Milton, G (2005) White Gold: The Extraordinary Story of Thomas Pellow And Islam's One Million White Slaves, Sceptre, London</ref> from coastal villages in [[Spain]] and [[Portugal]], and from farther places like the [[Italian Peninsula]], [[France]], or [[England]], the [[Netherlands]], [[Ireland]], the [[Azores Islands]], and even [[Turkish Abductions|Iceland]].<ref name="bbc.co.uk"/> For a long time, until the early 18th century, the [[Crimean Khanate]] maintained a [[Crimean slave trade|massive slave trade with the Ottoman Empire and the Middle East]].<ref>"[http://www2.econ.hit-u.ac.jp/~areastd/mediterranean/mw/pdf/18/10.pdf The Crimean Tatars and their Russian-Captive Slaves] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605131551/http://www.econ.hit-u.ac.jp/~areastd/mediterranean/mw/pdf/18/10.pdf |date=2013-06-05}}" (PDF). Eizo Matsuki, ''Mediterranean Studies Group at Hitotsubashi University.''</ref> The Crimean Tatars frequently mounted raids into the [[Danubian Principalities]], [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth|Poland–Lithuania]], and [[Tsardom of Russia|Russia]] to enslave people whom they could capture.<ref name="Britannica">{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/blackhistory/article-24157 |title=Historical survey > Slave societies |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica Online]]}}</ref>

The 18th century was profoundly marked by the profitability of the [[Atlantic slave trade]], which played a significant role in the economic development of contemporary core countries in Europe and the Americas. The widespread exploitation of enslaved Africans in the early 16th century was started by the Portuguese.<ref>{{Citation |last=Thornton |first=John |title=Africa and Africans in the Making of the Atlantic World, 1400–1800. |year=1998 |isbn=9780511800276}}</ref> This practice was embraced by many of today's core countries, such as the [[Slavery in the United States|United States]], [[United Kingdom#Kingdom of Great Britain|United Kingdom]], [[Slavery in France|France]], and [[History of Dutch slavery|the Netherlands]], until the late 19th century. 

[[Slavery in Africa#Slavery by region|Slavery existed in Africa]] prior to Europeans' capitalization on the practice, with Africans sometimes engaging in the sale of enslaved people.<ref>Cell, John W. " Europe and the World in an Expanding World Economy, 1700—1850." ''Asia in World History: Essays''. p. 445</ref> However, those enslaved and sold by Africans were usually [[Prisoner of war|prisoners of war]] or criminals, which European trading companies embraced as a convenient supply of human capital.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/history-of-slavery/west-africa#section--the-capture-and-sale-of-enslaved-africans |title="Africa before European slavery" |website=National Museums Liverpool}}</ref> Additionally, [[Slavery#Chattel slavery|chattel slavery]], where an enslaved person is considered property, was not a common practice among Africans at the time and peaked due to widespread implementation in the Americas. Because of the explosion of the Atlantic slave trade, many African nations experienced irreparable damage to their economies and societies as a whole.<ref name="Inikori">Inikori, J.E. "Africa in World History: the Export Slave Trade From Africa and the Emergence of the Atlantic Economic Order." ''General History of Africa V; Africa from the sixteenth to eighteenth century.'' p.92. [https://books.google.com/books?id=_dj9RRrvYjkC&dq=eighteenth+century+core+countries&pg=PA80 Link to Google Books]</ref> Meanwhile, this trade of humans was incredibly profitable for core countries, with estimates that the United States alone saw over $14 trillion worth of profit from enslaved Africans' labor.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.measuringworth.com/slavery.php |title=Measuring Slavery in 2020 Dollars*}}</ref>

===Modern era===
{{main|Age of Discovery|Age of Enlightenment|Proto-industrialization}}
{{further|Age of Revolution|Commercial revolution|Revolutions of 1848}}
[[File:Landing of Columbus (2) (cropped).jpg|thumb|350px|right|[[Christopher Columbus]] and his [[Spaniards|Spanish crew]] making their first landfall in the [[Americas]] in 1492]]

As states continued to grow technologically, especially through printing journals and newspapers, communication was more widespread. Thus, the global society was united through this force.<ref>Rosow, Stephen J. "Nature, Need, and the Human World; "Commercial Society" and the Construction of the World Economy." ''The Global Economy as Political Space''. p. 17. [https://books.google.com/books?id=RZPJK58IQ7IC&dq=economy+in+18th+century&pg=PA17 Link to Google Books]</ref> In order to assure a good life for their citizens, countries needed to rely on trade and on technological advancements, which ultimately determined how well in the world a country stood.<ref>Rosow, Stephen J. "Nature, Need, and the Human World; "Commercial Society" and the Construction of the World Economy." ''The Global Economy as Political Space''. p. 20.</ref>

Keeping in mind the interactions of states in this period, John W. Cell notes in his essay entitled "Europe and the World in an Expanding World Economy, 1700—1850", that war and trade were somewhat dependent on each other. States had to defend their ships while also establishing territories elsewhere to ensure successful trade for themselves.<ref>Cell, John W. " Europe and the World in an Expanding World Economy, 1700—1850." ''Asia in World History: Essays''. p. 448 [https://books.google.com/books?id=VZ1UHX-L8jgC&dq=the+world+in+1700&pg=PA445 Link to Google Books]</ref> By the middle of the 17th century, the "foundations of the modern world system had been laid."<ref>Cell, John W. " Europe and the World in an Expanding World Economy, 1700—1850." ''Asia in World History: Essays''. p. 445  [https://books.google.com/books?id=VZ1UHX-L8jgC&dq=the+world+in+1700&pg=PA445 Link to google books]</ref>

====Rise and eventual European hegemony====
{{main|European balance of power|Great Divergence|Industrial Revolution}}
{{further|Age of Imperialism|European colonialism|Second Industrial Revolution}}
[[File:Herman Moll Map of Europe.jpg|thumb|350px|right|After the [[Peace of Westphalia]] in 1648, borders between [[Early modern Europe|European states]] were largely stable (1708 map by Herman Moll).]]

At the beginning of the 18th century, [[Early modern Europe|Europe]] had not yet dominated in the world economy because its military did not match that of Asian or Middle Eastern empires. However, through organizing its economics and improving technology in industry, European countries took the lead as the most powerful states in the late 18th century and remained in this position until late in the 20th century.<ref name="Cell_p445">{{Citation |last=Cell |first=John W. |title=Europe and the World in an Expanding World Economy, 1700—1850. |work=Asia in World History: Essays |year=1997 |page=445 |isbn=9781563242656 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=VZ1UHX-L8jgC&dq=the+world+in+1700&pg=PA445}}</ref>

In the 18th century, Asia was making and distributing goods that were valued by other areas, namely [[coffee]], [[cotton]], [[silk]], and [[tea]]. Europe on the other hand, was not producing products of interest to the other parts of the world.<ref>{{Citation |last=Cell |first=John W. |title=Europe and the World in an Expanding World Economy, 1700—1850. |work=Asia in World History: Essays |year=1997 |page=447 |isbn=9781563242656 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=VZ1UHX-L8jgC&dq=the+world+in+1700&pg=PA445}}</ref> America's crops were not initially appealing to Europeans. Tobacco's demand had to be advertised, and eventually Europe became interested in this particular plant. In time, there was rather regular [[Columbian exchange|trans-Atlantic trade between the Americas and Western Europe]] for such crops as tobacco, cotton, and also goods available in [[South America]].<ref name="Cell_p445"/>

At the beginning of the 19th century, Europe still dominated as the core region of the world. The [[First French Empire]] attempted to obtain hegemony over much of [[continental Europe]] under the rule of [[Napoleon Bonaparte]].<ref>Abernethy, David (2000). ''The Dynamics of Global Dominance, European Overseas Empires 1415—1980''. Yale University Press. p. 67. {{ISBN|0-300-09314-4}}. Retrieved 7 June 2010.</ref> It lasted from 18 May 1804 to 4 April 1814 and again briefly from 20 March 1815 to 7 July 1815, when Napoleon was exiled to [[St. Helena]].<ref name="gallica.bnf.fr">{{cite web |last=texte |first=France Auteur du |date=23 January 1804 |title=Bulletin des lois de la République française |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k4453562 |website=Gallica |access-date=23 August 2019 |archive-date=23 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190823040943/https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k4453562 |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland]], with its naval, maritime, commercial, and financial dominance, was committed to the [[European balance of power]] [[Former countries in Europe after 1815|after 1815]].<ref>John R. Davis, "Britain and the European Balance of Power," in Chris Williams, ed., ''A Companion to Nineteenth‐Century Britain'' (2004) pp 34–52.</ref>
[[File:British Empire 1921.png|thumb|300px|left|Map of the [[British Empire]] and [[Territorial evolution of the British Empire|its territories]] in 1921]]

Between the 1830s and 1850, France and the United Kingdom were the strongest powers in Europe, but by the 1850s they had become deeply concerned by the growing power of [[Russian Empire|Imperial Russia]], which had expanded westward towards [[Central Europe]], and the [[Kingdom of Prussia]], which was increasingly assuming greater control and influence over the [[German Confederation|German lands]], aside from [[Austrian Empire|Austria]]. The [[Crimean War]] of 1853–1856 and the [[Second Italian War of Independence|Italian War of 1859]] shattered the relations among the Great Powers in Europe.<ref>René Albrecht-Carrié, ''A diplomatic history of Europe since the Congress of Vienna'' (1958) pp 65–68, 84–106.</ref> The creation in 1871 and rise of the [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussian]]-led [[German Empire]] (excluding [[Austrian Empire|Austria]]) as a dominant nation (Prussia had quickly defeated both Austria and France in the [[French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars|Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars]]) restructured the European balance of power. For the next twenty years, [[Otto von Bismarck]] managed to maintain the balance of power, by proposing treaties and creating many complex alliances between the European nations, such as the [[Triple Alliance (1882)|Triple Alliance]].<ref>Erich Eyck, ''Bismarck and the German Empire'' (1964) pp 58–68</ref><ref>René Albrecht-Carrié, ''A diplomatic history of Europe since the Congress of Vienna'' (1958) pp 163–206.</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.grin.com/document/346845 |title= The Balance of Power. A System of Peace in European International Politics Case Example: Congress of Vienna 1814/1815 |date= 2 December 2016 |publisher= GRIN | access-date= June 8, 2019 }}</ref>

In 1871, the [[German Empire]] [[Unification of Germany|was united]] and established itself as the [[Industrialization in Germany|leading industrial state]] on the European mainland.<ref>Abernethy, David (2000). ''The Dynamics of Global Dominance, European Overseas Empires 1415—1980''. Yale University Press. p. 85. {{ISBN|0-300-09314-4}}. Retrieved 7 June 2010.</ref> Its desire to dominate the mainland helped them to become a core state. After the [[First World War]], economic and political turmoil in [[Aftermath of World War I|post-war]] [[European interwar economy|European states]] continued to rage on, and [[Eastern Europe]] struggled to recover from the devastation of the war and the destabilising effects of not just the collapse of the [[Russian Empire]] due to the [[Bolshevik Revolution]] (1917), but the downfall of the [[Central Powers]] and their territorial destruction: the [[German Empire|German]], [[Austria-Hungary|Austro-Hungarian]], and [[Dissolution of the Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] empires were defeated by the [[Allies of World War I|Allies]] in 1918, which led to the emergence of new core states during the [[Interwar period]].<ref>Abernethy, David (2000). ''The Dynamics of Global Dominance, European Overseas Empires 1415—1980''. p. 104 Yale University Press. {{ISBN|0-300-09314-4}}. Retrieved 7 June 2010.</ref> This culminated with the [[Second World War]], when the United Kingdom was forced to sacrifice its hegemony, allowing the [[United States]] and the [[Soviet Union]] to become world superpowers and major cores in 1945.<ref>Abernethy, David (2000). ''The Dynamics of Global Dominance, European Overseas Empires 1415—1980''. Yale University Press. p. 146. {{ISBN|0-300-09314-4}}. Retrieved 7 June 2010.</ref> The Soviet Union lost its core status following [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|its collapse in 1991]].<ref>Marples, David R. (2004). ''The Collapse of the Soviet Union 1985—1991''. UK: Pearson Education Limited. p. 2. {{ISBN|0-582-50599-2}}. Retrieved 9 June 2010.</ref>

===List of current core countries===
The following are core according to Chase-Dunn, Kawano, Brewer (2000).<ref name=dunn>Chase-Dunn, Kawano, Brewer, ''Trade Globalization since 1795'', American Sociological Review, 2000 February, Vol. 65 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2657290 article], [http://www.irows.ucr.edu/cd/appendices/asr00/asr00app.htm#Table%20A2 Appendix with the country list] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100718051219/http://www.irows.ucr.edu/cd/appendices/asr00/asr00app.htm#Table%20A2 |date=2010-07-18 }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
| {{flag|Australia}}
| {{flag|Austria}} 
| {{flag|Belgium}}   
| {{flag|Canada}} 
| {{flag|Denmark}} 
|-
| {{flag|Finland}} 
| {{flag|France}}
| {{flag|Germany}} 
| {{flag|Greece}} 
| {{flag|Hong Kong}} 
|-
| {{flag|Iceland}}
| {{flag|Ireland}}
| {{flag|Italy}}
| {{flag|Japan}}
| {{flag|Luxembourg}}
|-
| {{flag|Macau}} 
| {{flag|Netherlands}}
| {{flag|Norway}}
| {{flag|Portugal}}
| {{flag|Singapore}}
|-
| {{flag|Spain}} 
| {{flag|Sweden}}
| {{flag|Switzerland}}
| {{flag|United Kingdom}}
| {{flag|United States}}
|}

Below is the core listing according to [[Salvatore Babones|Babones]] (2005), who notes that this list is composed of countries that "have been consistently classified into a single one of the three zones [core, semi-periphery or periphery] of the world economy over the entire 28-year study period".<ref>Salvatore J. Babones. 2005. [http://jwsr.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/jwsr/article/view/392/404 The Country-Level Income Structure of the World-Economy]. Journal of World-Systems Research 11:29–55.</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
| {{flag|Australia}}
| {{flag|Austria}}
| {{flag|Belgium}}
| {{flag|Canada}}
| {{flag|Denmark}}
|-
| {{flag|Finland}}
| {{flag|France}}
| {{flag|Germany}}
| {{flag|Greece}}
| {{flag|Hong Kong}}
|-
| {{flag|Iceland}}
| {{flag|Ireland}}
| {{flag|Israel}}
| {{flag|Italy}}
| {{flag|Japan}}
|-
| {{flag|Luxembourg}}
| {{flag|Netherlands}}
| {{flag|New Zealand}}
| {{flag|Norway}}
| {{flag|Singapore}}
|-
| {{flag|Spain}}
| {{flag|Sweden}}
| {{flag|Switzerland}}
| {{flag|United Kingdom}}
| {{flag|United States}}
|}

==Sociological theory==
[[File:IMF advanced UN least developed.svg|thumb|428x428px|right|Developed countries are shown in blue (according to the [[International Monetary Fund]], as of 2008).]]

The [[world-systems theory]] argues that a state's future is decided by their stance in the global economy. A global capitalistic market demands the needs for core (wealthy) countries and [[Semi-periphery countries|semi-peripheral]] or [[Periphery countries|peripheral]] (poor) countries. Core states benefit from the hierarchical structure of international trade and labor. World-systems theory follows the logic that international wars or multinational financial disputes can be explained as attempts to change a location within the global market for a specific state or groups of states; these changes can have the objective to gain more control over the global market (to become a core country), while causing another state to lose control over the world market. As the two groups grew apart in power, world systems theorists to established another group, the semi-periphery, to act as the middle group.<ref name="theory">Ross, Robert J. S. and Kent C. Trachte. [https://books.google.com/books?id=FrFzvcrvOxMC&q=%22world+systems+theory%22 ''Global Capitalism: the New Leviathan''] (p.51-54). Albany: State University of New York, 1990. {{ISBN|0-7914-0339-4}}</ref><!--ref applies to the whole para-->

[[Semi-periphery countries]] usually surround the core countries both in a physical and fundamental sense. The semi-periphery countries act as the middle men between the core and the periphery countries—by giving the wealthy countries what they receive from the poor countries. The [[periphery countries]] are the poorer countries usually specializing in farming and have access natural resources—which the core countries use to profit from.<ref name="diversesociety">Anderson, Margaret L. and Howard F. Taylor. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=LP9bIrZ9xacC&pg=PA254 Sociology: Understanding a Diverse Society]'' (p.254). Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 2007. {{ISBN|0-495-10236-9}}</ref><!--ref applies to the whole para-->

==Key qualifiers==
In order for a country to remain a core or to become a core, possible investors must be kept in mind when state's policies are planned. Core countries change with time due to many different factors including changes in geographic favoritism and regional affluence. Alterations in financing plans by companies will also play a part as they change to react to the continuously evolving [[world economy|world market]].<ref name=strategy>Michalet, Charles Albert. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=ejPof5lBFnsC&pg=PA22 Strategies of Multinationals and Competition for Foreign Direct Investment]'' (p.22-25). Washington D.C.: World Bank, 1997. {{ISBN|0-8213-4161-8}}</ref>

In order for a country to be considered a core country nominee, the country must possess an independent, stable government and potential for growth in the global market and advances in technology. Although these three factors will not completely decide where a company chooses to invest—they do play extremely large roles in such decisions. A main key to becoming or remaining a core is determined by the country's government policies to encourage funding from outside.<ref name=strategy/>

==Main functions==
The main function of the core countries is to command and financially benefit from the world system better than the rest of the world.<ref name=diversesociety/> Core countries could also be viewed as the capitalist class while the periphery countries could be viewed as a disordered working class.<ref name=revolution>Kimmel, Michael S. ''[https://archive.org/details/revolutionsociol0000kimm Revolution, a Sociological Interpretation]'' (p.100). Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1990. {{ISBN|0-87722-736-5}}</ref> In a capitalism-driven market, core countries exchange goods with the poor states at an unequal rate greatly in favor of the core countries.<ref name=enpolitical>O’Hara, Phillip Anthony. [https://books.google.com/books?id=ncgV5-fvEkoC ''Encyclopedia of Political Economy, Volume 2'']. London: T & F Books, 2009. {{ISBN|0-203-44321-7}}</ref>

The periphery countries’ purpose is to provide agricultural and natural resources along with the lower [[division of labor]] for larger corporations of semi-periphery and core countries. As a result of the lower priced division of labor and natural resources available, the core state's companies buy these products for a relatively low cost and then sell them for much higher. The periphery countries only receive low amounts of money for what they sell and must pay higher prices for anything they buy from outside their own region. Because of this continuous order, periphery countries can never earn enough to cover the costs of their imports while setting aside money to invest in better technologies. Core countries support this pattern by giving loans to the poor regions for specific investments in a raw material or type of agriculture, rather than help such regions establish themselves and balance out the world market.<ref name=worldsystem>Shannon, Thomas R. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=U39evXuC41kC&pg=PA16  An Introduction to the World-System Perspective]'' (p.16). Boulder: Westview Press, 1996. {{ISBN|0-8133-2452-1}}</ref>

==Effects==
A disadvantage to core states is that to remain a member of the core grouping, the government must retain or create new policies that encourage investments to keep in their country and not relocate.<ref name=worldsystem/> This can make it difficult for governments to change regulatory standards that may sacrifice high profits.

An example of a change that [[capitalism]] does not favor is the [[Abolitionism|abolition of slavery]]. During the early [[industrialization]] and growth of [[Economy of the United States|U.S. economy]], exports produced by [[Slavery in the United States|slaves]] played a huge role in making [[businesses]] the most profit.<ref name=slavery>Leiman, Melvin M. [https://books.google.com/books?id=-0SshE2MWREC&pg=PA25 ''Political Economy of Racism''] (p.25-26). London: Pluto Press, 1993. {{ISBN|0-7453-0487-7}}</ref>

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=18em}}
* [[Agrowth]]
* [[American exceptionalism]]
* [[Civilizing mission]]
* [[Climate change]]
* [[Core-periphery]]
** [[First World]]
** [[Second World]]
** [[Third World]]
** [[Fourth World]]
* [[Critique of political economy]]
* [[Debt-to-GDP ratio]]
* [[Degrowth]]
* [[Development theory]]
* [[Export-oriented industrialization]]
* [[International development]]
** [[Developed country]]
** [[Developing country]]
** [[Least developed countries]]
* [[Land reform]]
* [[List of countries by wealth per adult]]
* [[Non-Aligned Movement]] (NAM)
* [[North–South model]]
** [[Global North and Global South]]
* ''[[Prosperity Without Growth]]''
* [[Status quo]]
* [[Sufficiency economy]]
* [[Sustainability]]
* [[Sustainable development]]
* [[Thermoeconomics]]
* [[Theories of imperialism]]
** [[Dependency theory]]
** [[Neocolonialism]]
** [[Three Worlds Theory]]
* [[Uneconomic growth]]
* [[Unified growth theory]]
* [[Universal basic income]]
* [[Wealth redistribution]]
* [[The White Man's Burden]]
* [[Women migrant workers from developing countries]]
* [[World view]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Core Countries}}
[[Category:World systems theory]]
[[Category:Imperialism studies]]
[[Category:International development]]