George Modelski
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George Modelski was a political scientist who studied long-term processes in global politics, economics, urban development, and world-system evolution. He taught at the University of Washington from 1967 to 1995 after earlier work at the Australian National University.
Modelski developed a long-cycle theory of world leadership in which a leading global power emerges approximately once each century. His proposed sequence included Portugal, the Netherlands, two periods of British leadership, and the United States.
Each cycle was divided into four phases: global war, world power, delegitimation, and deconcentration. In the model, a system-wide conflict establishes a new leader, that power organises international institutions, its authority later weakens, and competition becomes increasingly dispersed.
Modelski described these cycles as learning processes in the development of global organisation and modernity. Critics question the selection of leaders and dates, the emphasis on naval power and Western history, and whether the proposed sequence has sufficient explanatory or predictive power.
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- Source / publisher: Wikipedia
- URL type: WWW
- Credits: Wikipedia
- URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Modelski