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World History Systems-Thinking 101:

The Good:
--On the importance of "systems-thinking" (digging beneath surface distractions to uncover the root structures; not missing the forest for the trees), see Meadows' Thinking In Systems: A Primer
--"How-the-world-works" books are often in-depth tomes, so this concise (~100 pages) overview by its most well-known proponent is much needed:

1) The Approach:
a) Space: unit of analysis = world system:
--This counters the conventional obsession with nation-states.
--Influenced by core-periphery/Dependency Theory/Unequal Exchange/anti-imperialism: the relationships between regions that cross national borders, especially useful given capitalism’s global division of labour.
--Wallerstein adds “s±ð³¾¾±-±è±ð°ù¾±±è³ó±ð°ù²ââ€� as a middle category in between “coreâ€� and “peripheryâ€�, and theorized the role semi-periphery has especially during economic downturns when the “coreâ€� looks to cut costs and outsource to viable locations (see Wallerstein’s 1976 “Semi-Peripheral Countries and the Contemporary World Crisisâ€�).

b) Time: unit of analysis = structural time, i.e. systems have lives.
--This counters those dreary history textbooks consisting of a litany of episodic events. This also counters the search for eternal truths.
--Wallerstein applies this by theorizing the �modern world system� as a capitalist world economy starting in the long 16th century (influenced by Fernand Braudel), flourishing from the influences of the French Revolution (which popularized liberal rule where political change and sovereignty of the people became normalized), and reaching a terminal phase by the 1968 world revolutions.
--Within the life of the system (“structural time�), there is �cyclic time� to reflect the behavior of capitalist expansions and contractions (boom/busts).

c) Against artificial academic discipline boundaries: overviews the history of academic disciplines (particularly in the “social sciences�) and the need to transcend them.
--A recent emphasis is after WWII, from the domination of US university system and the rise of Global South scholars in the world university system.

2) The Theories:
a) Capitalist boom/bust cycles:
--A key application of the spatial world-system and temporal structural-time is theorizing global capitalism’s life as a system.
--Capitalism is defined as a system prioritizing (i.e. alternatives are punished) the endless accumulation of capital. Influenced by Braudel, capitalism is seen as striving for anti-market monopolism within a set of institutions (including markets, firms, states, etc.), as a truly “free market� would erode profits.
--Influenced by Nikolai D. Kondratieff (i.e. K-waves) and of course Karl Marx, this results in the following “cyclic time� analysis on the cycle of leading products:
i) Expansion: leading products have temporary quasi-monopolies (including boost from patent monopolies), stimulating economic investment and growth.
ii) Contraction: overproduction is eventually reached from competition catching up (cut prices) and market saturation (cut demand), which halts investments and leads to recession. Capitalists try to offset diminished profits by cutting costs, either by cutting wages domestically or by relocation to semi-periphery (which often see growth during the overall downturn); however, demand remains an issue (especially with wages cut).

b) Capitalist structural crisis:
--Expanding from “cyclic time� to “structural time�, Wallerstein’s theory of the terminal crisis of capitalism focuses on increasing costs squeezing profits; these costs are not completely resolved by the cycles of leading products and build up:
i) Labour: outsourcing in a finite global labour market (especially after expansion from the collapse of Soviet Bloc + China’s opening) has temporary gains, but syndical (working class) power tends to eventually increase from improving organization/education/skills to push for higher wages (thus costs).
ii) Inputs (machinery + materials): pressure to internalize costs of waste disposal, resource renewal, and infrastructure.
iii) Taxes: initially capitalists focus on security (army/police), infrastructure, and bureaucracy (mostly tax collection) but all expanding along with demand for social services.
--of course, the explanations/prioritization here is contested to various degrees by more orthodox Marxists (with their own variations on the "Tendency for the Rate of Profit to Fall") as well as other like Michael Hudson (who focuses on rising private debt: The Bubble and Beyond) and Eco-socialists (who focus on the environmental crisis, ex. Facing the Anthropocene: Fossil Capitalism and the Crisis of the Earth System).
--a related accessible intro is Varoufakis' Talking to My Daughter About the Economy: or, How Capitalism Works—and How It Fails.

c) Other key theories involve debates around Dependency Theory (i.e. periphery's dependency on the imperial core), Marx’s “Asiatic mode of production�, the Transition debate (between Feudalism to Capitalism), and how to conceptualize history (ex. “total history� of Annales school). Common criticisms of World-Systems Analysis are reviewed: orthodox Marxists, state autonomists, cultural particularists�

3) The Heart of Radical Change:
--As you can see from the radical influences, from Latin American Dependency Theory to Marx, the World Systems tradition has the heart of radical change. This means global alternatives are well within the equation, thus shaping the analysis. For example, Wallerstein characterizes global capitalism as exploitation and does not grant the term "development" to describe semi-periphery regions that benefit from global downturns. The hope is for what Wallerstein calls "anti-systemic movements" to find use in this approach to help better understand the world's structures in order to change the system, rather than being distracted by surface symptoms.

The Questionable:
--Not missing the big picture is crucial; a failure to do so can be seen in progressive reformists who focus too much on “nationalist development� (the best of the bunch may be Ha-Joon Chang: Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism). During the systemic booms, it is fair-weather sailing, as anything and everything can seem to contribute to progressive growth. But when the inevitable crash happens, the solution remains to simply revert to the conditions of the boom phase.
--However, with grand analyses comes the risk of grand inaccuracies. I have not read Wallerstein extensively, but from his lectures he comfortably makes grand claims (framed as his “narratives�) that make me hesitant; to be fair, he is more careful with predictions as he stresses indeterminacy. Grand claims come with the territory; World Systems analysis seems to have many contrasting views resulting from the shared approach.
--Despite the Global South influences, I still think there needs to be more emphasis on such experiences and practices. I still get a sense of "economizing" at times, and not capturing the impact of imperialist violence. Consider this playlist:
...And these Global South perspectives in:
-ex. geopolitical economy: Capital and Imperialism: Theory, History, and the Present
-ex. history: The Darker Nations: A People's History of the Third World
--Actual anti-systemic ideas for postcapitalism that we should push for? Try Varoufakis' Another Now: Dispatches from an Alternative Present