Politička antropologija i moderni svetski sistem

Critical condensing of Wallerstein’s and Friedman’s conceptions of the world system provides a necessary cognitive basis for anthropological research of political cultures. Borders of the modern world system are the borders of the global capitalist economy and transnational system, that are the boundaries within which global processes develop, which – in addition to the processes on local level – decisively impact the creation of structural conditions in which particular political cultures take form, that is, political idioms and political opinions and activities stemming from these idioms. Therefore, introducing global systemic perspective into political anthropology means contextualizing political cultures within the modern world system.

Bearing in mind that cyclicity is the key feature of the processes developing within the modern world system, it is necessary that anthropologists who research political cultures be ready for analyses both at microhistorical and macrohistorical level. Cyclicity within the modern world system is reflected through changes of interactional constellations of the global capitalism, imperial hegemony and nationalism.