Development of theoretical approaches to the study of peripheral areas
Importance The paper focuses on the evolution of views on the notion of peripheral areas from the first theories (John H. Friedmann, Immanuel M. Wallerstein, the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLAC), etc.) to the present day.  Objectives The paper aims to identify and overview the existing theoretical approaches to the study of peripheral areas, and determine their strengths and disadvantages.  Methods The theoretical basis of the study encompasses the core-periphery model, world-systems analysis, dependency theory (theory of peripheral economy), and the works on regional economics by Russian and foreign scholars. For the study, I used various methods of analysis, synthesis, generalization, and classification.  Results The paper summarizes the existing theoretical approaches to the study of peripheral areas. It suggests dividing the approaches into basic and auxiliary ones. The paper describes the basic approaches: geographical (geometric), economic, and political (managerial), saying that future studies on peripheral areas within these approaches are linked to the concepts of economic space and spatial economy.  Conclusions The analysis of scientific literature testifies to absence of the generally accepted view on essence of the peripheral areas concept. There are two directions of the considered approaches' development: the emergence of new supportive approaches and the transformation of traditional basic ones.