On the Silk Road with Giovanni Arrighi

Abstract: This thesis explores contradictions, inadequacies, and competing formulations within Giovanni Arrighi’s theory of systemic cycles of accumulation (SCAs) as a Kuhnian scientific paradigm. This has been carried out through a comparative study on how the theory has been applied by scholars on the issue of the prospective hegemonic rise of China in the contemporary setting. The study finds that there are theoretical issues with the theory’s Braudelian distinction between capitalism and markets and assumptions on the state. These issues are interrelated to Arrighi’s view of China as a decisively non-capitalist market society where the concepts within SCAs are not fully applicable. Consequently, there is ambivalence as to how the theory could be applied to China. This creates a theoretical impasse for future theorising on China. While there are several research strategies for dealing with this impasse, failure to solve this dilemma points towards anomalies in the theory which eventually could lead to the crisis of SCAs as a paradigm for studying China and hegemonic transitions.