The State, The Economy and Social Reproduction in the Semiperiphery of the World System
The analysis of Portuguese society as defined by intermediate level of development requires a profound reconstruction of existing concepts and theories which, in order to be effective, should encompass a wide theoretical-methodological range and focus on a suitably broad set of thematic areas.
This project aimed to provide a comprehensive diagnosis of Portuguese society as a semiperipheral society and, at the same time, envisages a theoretical reconstruction of the concept of semiperiphery itself, based on the specific features of this society, allowing a more sophisticated understanding of the way in which Portugal has experienced the dynamic transformations in the world system since 1974. In particular, it aims to understand how the extremely heterogeneous characteristics of Portuguese society, both on an economic and social and a political and cultural level, lead to configurations of the state which inscribe in its institutional matrix the very social heterogeneity which it aims to regulate.
The theoretical reconstruction of the concept of semiperiphery centred on four points: 1. Specification of the consequences of the identification of Portuguese society as a European society that is different from other semiperipheral societies of the world system; 2. The centrality of the role of the state in the Portuguese context led to special attention being paid to the transformation of this role in the period under analysis; 3. The concept of the welfare society proved absolutely central to understanding the discrepancy between patterns
of capitalist production and labour relations, on the one hand, and patterns of consumption and social reproduction on the other hand; 4. By incorporating cultural analysis and theories of culture it was possible to bridge the long acknowledged gap in world system theory, adding decisive elements to the characterisation of Portuguese society as semiperipheral.
The results are summarized in the eighteen chapters of the volume Portugal: Um retrato singular (Portugal: a Singular Portrait) (ed. Boaventura de Sousa Santos, Porto: Afrontamento, 1993).
Adosinda Henriques
António Gama
António Sousa Ribeiro
Boaventura de Sousa Santos (coord)
Carlos Fortuna
Elísio Estanque
Fernando Ruivo
Graça Capinha
Idalina Melo
Isabel Caldeira
João Moreira
José Reis
Maria Irene Ramalho
Maria José Hespanha
Maria Manuel Leitão Marques
Pedro Hespanha
Rui Namorado
Virgínia Ferreira