Final answer:
A peripheral nation, in world systems analysis, refers to a developing country exploited by more powerful nations, often with little industrialization and dependence on core nations for economic support.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to world systems analysis, a peripheral nation is a nation that is a poor, developing nation, such as Haiti or Chad, that is exploited by more powerful nations and corporations. Peripheral nations typically have little industrialization, often utilizing outdated castoffs from core nations, or have industries owned or controlled by these more powerful nations. These nations, including examples like Vietnam and Cuba, usually suffer from unstable governments, inadequate social programs, and rely economically on core nations for jobs and aid. This dependency relationship and exploitation are key characteristics defined by Immanuel Wallerstein's world systems approach which seeks to understand global inequality and the economic hierarchy that places some nations in positions of power and others in states of economic subordination.
To understand this dynamic further, it is useful to look at concepts such as neocolonialism, which describes indirect methods through which capitalist interests exert pressure on poor nations to exploit resources for multinational corporations and their allies, often despite the end of formal colonial rule.