"Asia and Africa today"
- is a scientificl monthly journal (in Russian)
of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Included in Russian Science Citation Index on
WoS platform, and EBSCO Publishing.
ISSN 0321-5075. Published since July 1957.

 

 "Asia and Africa today" № 6 2016

 

 

Azia&Afrika 06-2016

 

 Top Problem

 

ISLAM, ISLAMISM AND EXTREMISM

«ISLAMIC STATE»: ITS ORIGIN AND PROSPECTS by B.V.Dolgov, PhD (History), Institute of Oriental Studies, RAS
Keywords: «Islamic state», Islamist ideology, the «Arab Spring», the Syrian crisis
The ideologues of doctrine of the Islamic State declare that their doctrine based on the «eternal and just laws of the Koran» is an alternative to «the West which is wrong and mired in the evils». That is why their doctrine continues to attract attention of not only Muslims, but also people of other civilizations.
The aggravation of the socio-economic problems, taking place in the Arab-Muslim world, and, to a sufficient degree in the EU and the United States, where the crisis also affects the spiritual realm of the Western post-Christian society contributes to popularity of this doctrine.
Expansion of the terrorist organization «Islamic state» (IG) can significantly destabilize the situation in the region. This primarily relates to Libya, where the central government does not control the entire country. In the certain part of its territory Islamist leaders proclaimed adherence to the IG.

 

REVOLT IN THE ARABIAN WORLD: CROPS AND SHOOTS

MIGRATION PROCESSES IN NORTH AFRICA IN THE CONTEXT OF THE ARAB CRISIS: IS IT THE PROBLEM OF EUROPE ONLY? by N.V.Sukhov, PhD (History), Institute of Oriental Studies, RAS; Institute for African Studies, RAS
Keywords: North Africa, Algeria, Morocco, illegal migration, smuggling, xenophobia, racism, human rights, integration of migrants and refugees
For a quarter of a century now the massive flows of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, are routed through North Africa to Europe.
Since 2005, the author has had a chance to be a direct witness of the migration processes in the Maghreb.
In this article, a special attention is paid to the complex of problems which generated a lot of changers in Morocco, the country which is now a junction of migration.

 

 Policy, Economy

ISRAEL: WAR ON TWO FRONTS by A.A.Ermakov,  PhD (History); A.A.Kornilov, Dr.Sc. (History), N.I.Lobachevsky Nizhny Novgorod State University
Keywords: Israel, «Hezbollah», Hamas, «Islamic Jihad», militants
Component part of the Arab-Israeli conflict is a confrontation between the State of Israel and the radical organizations represented by the Lebanese
«Hezbollah» («Party of God») and by the Palestinian factions. Over the past eight years Tel Aviv has carried out against Palestinian radicals a number of large-scale military operations. That’s why an armed confrontation between Israel and the radicals of the Gaza Strip in recent years, attracts much more attention than the standoff between
«Hezbollah» and Israel.
However, for the Israelis the «Party of God» is much more dangerous opponent than the militants of Gaza.

ECONOMIC POLICY OF NORTH KOREA UNDER KIM JONG-UN LEADERSHIP by L.V.Zakharova, PhD (Economics), Institute  of Far Eastern Studies, RAS
Keywords: North Korea, Kim Jong-un, economic policy
At the end of 2011, a new leader has come into power in North Korea. After Kim Jong-un, the son of suddenly died, Kim Jong-il, consolidated in power one of the key questions was what would be the economic policy of the young leader.
Kim Jong-un has made up his mind to continue with the policy of his father aimed at building a «powerful and prosperous state». As the basis of his policy he declared in 2013, is the «line of the parallel development of economic construction and the creation of nuclear forces.»
The author examines the main trends in the economic life of the DPRK and the internal and external results of the economic policy of Kim Jong-un in the state and in external relations in
2012-2015, analyzes succession and innovation in positions of new leadership of North Korea in economic matters. Particular attention is paid to the mechanisms of improving production and living of the population, Kim Jong-un, is trying to use at the present stage, without appealing to systemic reform.

FATE OF POLITICAL INTEGRATION IN AFRICA: East African Community by H.M.Turinskaya, PhD (History), Institute for African Studies, Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, RAS
Keywords: the East African Community, regional integration, political federation
November 5, 2015, the newly elected president of the United Republic of Tanzania John Magufuli took the oath. Entourage, in which was held his inauguration, and media support for this event have given a new food for reflection about the current situation in the African regional groupings, the alignment of political forces and the prospects for unification of East African States.
It’s just this particular region, in spite of all sorts of obstacles on the way to full-fledged federation, is the flagship of the integration on the African continent. The media revived the debate about the need to speed up the creation of a political union of the East African States.

CHINA ABANDONS ONE-CHILD POLICY: NEW CHALLENGES WHICH THE SOCIETY AND EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM WILL FACE by M.A.Guleva, PhD (Economics), Moscow State University of International Relations
Keywords: China, population policy, birth control, education
At the end of 2015 the Chinese Communist Party announced the abolition of the principle of «one family - one child». The weakening of the demographic policy will inevitably bring significant changes in the life of the Chinese society. This article discusses the possible challenges that  the educational system of China will face. Nowadays there are many imbalances in the development of education in China. In terms of the increasing birth rate, which is likely to take place with the changes in the demographic policy, it will inevitably require the reformation of the educational system as a whole. In addition, Chinese citizens will have to answer the question whether they are ready for future social reconstruction? The development of the country in the future will depend on how optimally will be found the approaches to these new challenges.

 

REGIONAL SECURITY

“SECURITY - DEVELOPMENT” - NEXUS IN THE RELATIONS BETWEEN THE EU AND THE AFRICAN COUNTRIES by O.S.Kulkova, PhD (History), Institute for African Studies, RAS; the Faculty of World Politics, Moscow State University
Keywords: African development, African development
The article gives a brief overview of a range of the EU initiatives in the field of assistance to African development and provision of security on the African continent in the 2000-2010-s. The author’s analysis of the documents adopted by the EU in
2000-2010-s concerning the security-development nexus and of the practical steps of the EU structures in these areas in Africa made it possible to identify the new aspects of the EU political discourse on these issues.
The evaluation is given of the new EU approaches to the prevention and resolution of African conflicts, to the problems of peace-building and post-conflict reconstruction, the reform of the European system of aid to the African development. The evolution of the EU’s approach to the regulation of migration from the African continent is shown, especially in light of the migration crisis in EU in 2015.

ASIAN INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT BANK: A NEW PERIPHERAL ELEMENT OF BRICS STRUCTURE by V.V.Klishin, PhD (Economcs), Russian Standard Bank; V.V.Pavlov, Dr.Sc. (Economics), Institute for African Studies, RAS
Keywords: Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, BRICS, AIIB
The establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) secures for China the role one of the leading world powers, controlling credit and loan policy and investment activities of the regional development banks, and the bank itself becomes an essential element of the peripheral structure of the BRICS.
The article deals with the prerequisites for establishment and future directions of the credit policy of AIIB. According to the authors, the main aim of creating AIIB  is to eliminate the deficit long-term investment in the development of solid infrastructure industries in the Asian region. Another object of creating AIIB was China’s desire to strengthen the status of the yuan as the base currency of international settlements and payments based on the expansion of credit and loan and investment operations of AIIB  in national Chinese currency. The authors conclude that the creation of AIIB was an important step for the practical restructuring of the international financial and monetary system in the direction of strengthening the role therein of the BRICS countries.

 

 Political Portrait

"THE WEEPING WIDOW" WHO CON- QUERED THE WORLD by A.A.Suvorova, Dr.Sc. (Philology), Institute of Oriental Studies
Keywords: Ceylon, Republic of Sri Lanka, Bandaranaike's dynasty, women of power, Sinhala- Tamil conflict
The article presents a political profile of the World first woman prime minister, Sirimavo Bandaranaike. She served as Prime Minister of Ceylon and Sri Lanka three times, and was a long- time leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. She pursued policies of nonalignment abroad and democratic socialism at home. For 40 years she had been widely recognized as the matriarch of female political leadership both in Sri Lanka and all South Asia. The article is dedicated to the centennial of Bandaranaike.

 

 Post-Graduate Column

THE ROLE OF TRADIONS IN JAPANESE MANAGEMENT by M.O.Demina, Post-graduate student, Institute of Far Eastern Studies, RAS
Keywords:  Japanese management, Japanese companies, lifetime employment, mission statements
The article is aimed at identification of changes in the  Japanese approach to  human resource management in the present conditions. The introduction gives a brief overview of foreign research of Japanese models of management in the period from the 1970s to the 1990s. Moreover, the reasons for its cost-efficiency and sustainability are highlighted.
In the next part of the article the author addresses current challenges for the management model and the transformation taking place in response to these challenges. Statistical data reveal the changes in pay practices and relative contraction of lifetime employment system. In addition, the results of the mission statement analysis indicate that few employers emphasize traditional values. Appealing to national religious and philosophical traditions, which in theory morally legitimizes the lifetime employment, can be regarded as the exception rather than the rule.

 

 History Pages

SOVIET PILOTS IN THE SKY OF CHINA by Yu.V.Chudodeyev, PhD (History), Institute of Oriental Studies, RAS
Keywords: China, USSR, Soviet pilots- volunteers, Japanese militarism, Japanese air force
Chinese have a saying: «Do not forget the past - it is the teacher for the future». The saying sounds very important in connection with the subject of this brief essay about the combat operations Soviet volunteer pilots in the in the sky of China.

 

 Culture, Literature, Art

THE WINNERS OF THE «ARABIC BOOKER». «Frankenstein in Baghdad» by V.N.Zarytovskaya, PhD (Pedagogical Sciences), Associate professor, Russian Peoples Friendship University
Keywords: modern Arabic literature, Iraqi literature,  «Arabic Booker», Ahmed Saadawi, «Frankenstein in Baghdad»
The goal of the article is to give analysis of a novel by modern Iraqi writer Ahmed Saadawi, which is highly appreciated by international literary critics as a reflection of the impact of the recent socio-political developments in the Middle East region. The artistic features of the artwork as postmodern and relevant for quality standards of modern European novel are also considered. Also it deals with  issues of translation of Arabic literature into the main languages of the world with its increased relevance and the awarding of the «Arab Booker» (IPAF). Composer’s translation from Arabic of an excerpt of the novel is provided after the article.

 

 Book Review

RISING SUN OF THE CONSERVATISM by M.A.Devlin, historian
This article is a review of the book “Japan: Turn to Conservatism” (M., 2015. 280 p.). A group of authors examines the current situation in the conservative circles in the Land of the Rising Sun. They are giving an overview of the book’s chapters with a focus on those of them in which the foreign policy of the current Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe and Japan’s relationship with its neighbors are analyzed.

ZIMBABWE GOT CLOSER TO RUSSIA by N.I.Petrov, Staff observer
The title of this book - «The fate of Zimbabwe» (author - Professor V.G.Shubin, Dr.Sc (History), the publication of the Institute for African Studies,
2015. 158 p.), at first glance, seems unusual. Why - in the plural - «fates» of a distant African country, and not «fate»...?
But after reading the work one understands: unusual, but very precisely and, of course, correct. This state, with at times very difficult, even dramatic history, has not one but several destinies - political, military, ethnic, economic, and several others, and highlight them (in varying degrees of depth and detail) is an extremely difficult task. Zimbabwe is one of the poorest country in the world, life expectancy is less than 50 years, she is one of the most affected by AIDS and other diseases.

 

* Summary