A world-system in flux: The rise of modern world-empire and it's significance in the modern world-system

Utilizing a theoretical framework of world-system and new imperialism theory, this study explores the current state of the modern world-system. Specifically, this study seeks to determine whether a new world-system of a modern world-empire is emerging from the current economically based capitalist world-economy world-system. A world-system exists as either a world-empire, which is a coercive system based on political or military domination, or a capitalist world-economy, which is a system based on economic domination. Guided by the following research questions, the study addresses whether: (1) is the capitalist world-economy the dominant system in the modern world-system, and; (2) what changes in the modern world-system are producing conditions conductive to the creation of a new stage of world-empire? Three distinct typological constructs were created to compare proposed characteristics expected to be found in the modern world-system with a set actual or observed characteristics contained within a specific typological construct. The characteristics of the constructs are derived from an analysis of several military conflicts between nation-states that serve an examinable case study. The best fitting typological construct should contain characteristics that are applicable to all of the analyzed case studies, which are the Persian Gulf War, the Iraq War of 2003, the Falkland Islands War, and the Soviet-Afghan War of 1979. None of the characteristics of the typological constructs are applicable to all of the case studies. Nevertheless, the capitalist world-economy typological construct contained the least number of applicable characteristics to the four case studies, while the modern world-empire typological contained the most number of applicable characteristics. The study reveals the capitalist world-economy is no longer the dominant system in the modern world-system. The characteristics found in the case studies were largely inapplicable in the capitalist world-economy typology. The study's finding raises the possibility that nation-states are motivated to engage in armed conflict due to factors other than the incentives of financial or monetary gain. More significantly, the results of the study question the premise that financial incentives will always govern the actions of a nation-state to engage in conflict even in the presence of other influential factors.