George Modelski

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George Modelski (born January 9, 1926 in Poznań , † February 21, 2014 in Washington, DC ) was a Polish-American political scientist whose specialty was international relations . His most important scientific achievement was the development of a theory of world political cycles ( Long Cycle Theory ).

Modelski studied at the London School of Economics and the University of London , where he received his Ph.D. ( International Relations ) doctorate was. He then did research as a Senior Research Associate at the Australian National University . From 1967 to 1995 he was Professor of Political Science at the University of Washington . He also taught as a visiting professor at the University of Chicago , of Princeton University , the Harvard University , the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study , the University of Stockholm and the University of Catania . In 2012 he was awarded the bronze medal by the International ND Kondratiev Foundation in Moscow for his social science achievements .

Theory of world political cycles

Modelski began working on his Long Cycle Theory in 1974 when he presented a corresponding conference paper , in 1978 he published the first magazine article, his most important book publications on the subject came out from 1987.

In his theory he assumes that the global political cycles of his model are a phenomenon of modernity and first appeared towards the end of the 15th century. Since then, the international system has gone through a repeating cycle of around 120 years each. As a result, the system is currently in the fifth iteration. In the beginning, a state actor gains supremacy in the world and retains it as a hegemon during the respective cycle. According to Modelski, Portugal , the Netherlands and Great Britain have been hegemons twice in a row. Currently it is the USA .

Each cycle of the model consists of four phases, each lasting approximately 30 years. At the beginning there is a longer period of war (in the American cycle there were the two world wars from 1914 to 1945), the effects of which reshape the international system. In the second, the post-war phase, the hegemon has the ability and the legitimation to enforce a world-political system of order and thus to shape world politics in its own interest (this was the case in the American cycle between 1945 and 1973). In the next phase, the international model of order is delegitimized because it is being questioned by competitors (for the American cycle Modelski names the years from 1973 to 2000). Finally the fourth phase follows, that of deconcentration. During this period, new forces gain power and importance and begin to implement their own ideas of order, initially regionally. This creates a multipolar system with a weak international order, from which a global conflict develops, which escalates into world war (for the American cycle this phase is dated from 2000 to 2030).

The theory can be assigned to political science cycle research, which peaked in the 1970s and 1980s and then received less attention afterwards. In the Anglo-Saxon region, theory is part of textbook knowledge, but in German-speaking political science it has so far hardly attracted any attention.

Web links

Fonts (selection)

  • A theory of foreign policy . Praeger, New York 1962.
  • Principles of world politics . Free Press, New York 1972.
  • Long cycles in world politics . University of Washington Press, Seattle 1987, ISBN 0-295-96430-8 .
  • Exploring long cycles . L. Rienner Publishers, Boulder 1987, ISBN 0-931-47798-0 .
  • With William R. Thompson: Seapower in global politics, 1494–1993 . Macmillan Press, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire 1988, ISBN 0-333-42925-7 .
  • With Sylvia Modelski: Documenting global leadership . University of Washington Press, Seattle 1988, ISBN 0-295-96635-1 .
  • With William R. Thompson: Leading sectors and world powers. The coevolution of global politics and economics . University of South Carolina Press, Columbia 1996, ISBN 1-570-03054-5 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b William R. Thompson, Barry K. Gills, Robert A. Denemark, Christopher K. Chase-Dunn: In Memoriam - George Modelski , International Studies Association (ISA), September 12, 2014.
  2. ↑ a b Nik Milosevic, Weltpolitische Cycles . In: Wichard Woyke , Johannes Varwick : Concise dictionary of international politics . 13th completely revised and updated edition, Verlag Barbara Budrich, Opladen / Toronto 2015, ISBN 978-3-8252-4518-4 , pp. 535–542, here p. 535.
  3. ↑ Nik Milosevic, World Political Cycles . In: Wichard Woyke , Johannes Varwick : Concise dictionary of international politics . 13th completely revised and updated edition, Verlag Barbara Budrich, Opladen / Toronto 2015, ISBN 978-3-8252-4518-4 , pp. 535-542, here pp. 536 f.
personal data
SURNAME Modelski, George
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Modelski, George Alexander
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Polish-American political scientist
DATE OF BIRTH January 9, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH Poznań
DATE OF DEATH February 21, 2014
Place of death Washington, DC