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Political Economy of World-Systems 2002 Conference Riverside, California |
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Abstract The Rise of European Hegemony: Eric Mielants In her study on the world-system AD 1250-1350, Abu-Lughod (1989) coined her paragraph on South Asia: "the Indian Subcontinent: On the Way to Everywhere." The title indicates that the socioeconomic developments occurring in South Asia had the possibility of going in any direction. It is certainly a safe bet. Yet in her contribution she does not elaborate on the long-term impact of social structures or historical developments related to economic strategies that elites were capable (or willing) to implement. This is, however, a major factor. As Eisenstadt (1964:366) points out, "the placement of elites in the preceding social structure, with the extent of their internal cohesiveness" is a crucial feature, related to the successful creation of a powerful capitalist society at one moment in time. One should carefully investigate to what extent the different 'path dependencies' of the political economies of South Asia and Europe respectively, are a key variable in explaining why the Western European powers were capable of imposing their hegemony over South Asia, rather than vice versa. |
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27th Annual Conference of the Political Economy of World-Systems Spring Hosted by the Institute for Research on World-Systems at the University of California, Riverside |