?
Systemic boundary issues in the light of mathematical modeling of world-system evolution
In this article we demonstrate why mathematical models of the World System evolution are so important for the world-systems research, in general, and for the issue of systemic boundaries in particular. The point is that those mathematical models demonstrate in a rather convincing way that in order that a certain set of human societies would demonstrate systemic qualities (and - thus - could be described with a single mathematical model), it is sufficient that just one condition is observed - it is necessary that the technological innovations made in one society of a system could diffuse within a millennium throughout all the other societies of the system. As soon as this condition is satisfied, the respective set of human societies can be treated as a single system (and - what is important - can be described with a single mathematical model), and we do not know any better designation for such a system than the ‘world-system’. This, of course suggests rather specific criteria for the world-systemic boundaries.