Nº 11 (2024)

The Indian government attaches high importance to the development of microelectronics industry in order to achieve the goals of Self-reliant India Campaign (Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan) announced in May 2020. The main objectives of special programs and measures are to give an impetus to the domestic manufacturing sector, attract investments, and generate direct and indirect employment. The BJP government’s vision for electronics industry is focused on expanding production facilities to meet local demand and ramp up exports. It is important to note the impact of external/global factors as well. In searching for alternative options to China, large electronic companies are considering the possibility of transferring manufacturing operations to India, noting such country’s advantages like the fastest economic growth, large workforce, rapidly expanding middle class and stable political system. Step by step India keens to become a prominent player in the global microelectronics market. The article analyzes the key stages of the development of electronics industry in India, explores taken by the current central government efforts to promote electronics system design and IT hardware manufacturing in the country.

The global geopolitical transformations of modern times are deforming the world order that emerged in the post-war period. These transformations marked the beginning of the end of French dominance in West and Central Africa. There is a rapid degradation and collapse of the military-political system “Fransafrique”. Over the past 3 years, armed coups have occurred in Mali, Guinea, Sudan, Burkina Faso, Niger and Gabon. The violent change of power in all these states had much in common, but there were also significant differences in what was happening in these countries. The article examines the features of the 2023 military coup in the Gabonese Republic and its distinctions from coups in other states in this region. In particular, the Elyse Palace’s loyal attitude towards the initiators of the putsch is noted, and the reasons for this unexpected tolerance are revealed. This also explains the quite benevolent attitude of the putschists towards the presence of French troops on the territory of Gabon. All the coups that have happened in recent years have little in common: the impoverishment of the broad masses, galloping inflation and unemployment. Everywhere there was massive support for the rebel military from civil society.

The article analyzes how water scarcity on the African continent is perceived by the United Nations, Russia, and African countries. Water is an important part of the UN Sustainable Development Agenda. The international decade for action on Water for Sustainable Development was declared from 2018 to 2028. The author studies the United Nations’ vision of the water issue by using 2 indicators that often appear in reports of this international organization and its subordinate structures, namely access to water supply services and the level of water stress. These parameters are compared with the results of public opinion polls conducted by the African research center “Afrobarometer” and search query statistics in Google Trends. In order to identify Russian society’s ideas on the water issue in Africa, literary works, as well as publications of the TASS news agency were analyzed.

The article focuses on the reasons why the Egyptian leadership decided to join BRICS in January 2024. The analysis of the Egyptian leadership’s public rhetoric has shown that the key motives for joining the organization are usually related to the economy: Egyptian politicians most often talk about expanding cooperation with the organization’s member countries, dedollarization and the New Development Bank. This is due to the fact that Egypt is facing serious economic problems, which relate to budget deficit, high inflation, trade deficit and devaluation of the national currency. BRICS cannot solve these Egyptian problems and is not a “silver bullet” but the benefits of joining, associated with economic cooperation and the New Development Bank, far outweigh the costs, which are limited to a small risk of deteriorating relations with the United States. BRICS does not impose rigid obligations on its members, which makes the organization attractive to countries with different political systems, allowing them to maintain balance in international relations with different actors thereof (such as the United States, China, Russia, India, European Union countries etc.)

The purpose of the article is to analyze the political activities and religious and philosophical views of an outstanding figure of the Indian national movement, one of the leaders of the influential Indian National Congress Party, its president during World War II, a staunch Muslim Abul Kalam Azad (1888-1958) in the context of the problem of ethnic and confessional nationalism in India. Azad was an implacable fighter for the unity of India and an opponent of its partition. Together with Jawaharlal Nehru, he was the creator of the theory of Indian nationalism the entire population of Hindustan is one people. Azad believed that large political associations (states) were the most progressive, and humanity, sooner or later, would come to realize its unity. He believed that there were more similarities than differences in different religions, and considered Islam to be a religion of freedom. Using Indian and domestic sources and research, the author characterizes one of the least studied Indian politicians and thinkers in our country, an associate of Mahatma Gandhi, an opponent of the disintegration of the country along religious and confessional lines in 1947.

This study examines the profound influence of Islamic populism on the 2019 Indonesian presidential election and its influence on the 2024 election. It analyzes how the main candidates, Joko Widodo and Prabowo Subianto, utilized religious sentiments in their campaign strategies. By the time of 2024 presidential election, it highlights the emerging strategies presidential candidates adopted to attract voters. Successful candidates garnered substantial support from the previous supporters of President Joko Widodo, convincing them to shift their allegiance. By employing a strategy that resonates with the majority and boosts a candidate’s visibility and appeal, candidates increase their likelihood of winning. The study relies on academic literature and election result data to parse regional voting patterns and their implications for Indonesia’s political landscape. Indonesian presidential elections in 2024 demonstrated a discernible shift towards candidates who blend Islamic values with pluralism. The study concludes that aligning with the incumbent president’s network has significant influence on electoral success. This strategy significantly strengthens a candidate’s appeal to voters.

The Russian Federation, expanding cooperation with the countries of the “world majority”, pays special attention to cooperation with Africa. Moscow has held two summits and adopted specific action plans for the development of relations with the states of the continent. However, further progress rests on limitations and difficulties of a financial and economic nature, problems of access to the markets of African countries, including our grain products. It is important to study and take into account the proven experience of third countries in these matters. In this regard, a special place is occupied by the study of approaches followed by the UAE, which has a well-developed and proven strategy for promoting its interests in Africa based on the accelerated development of port and logistics infrastructure, assistance to international and intercontinental trade. The article contains an analysis of the UAE’s strategy towards Africa, with an emphasis on its port and logistics dimension. Special attention is paid to the study of the experience of the Emirati port operators. The UAE’s activity in certain sub-regions of Africa is considered; the existing problems and components of the success of specific projects are noted. The question is raised about the possible combining the efforts of the two countries: the UAE - in the field of port and logistics facilities, the Russian Federation - in the field of their physical protection.

The present work studies images of Africa as they appear in fictions and poems. For this purpose, literature in Russian as well as Indian, Bengali in particular, have been considered. The literary works that have been studied here, from one hand, reflect the images of African lands, air, seas and forests which do exist since the primitive era of their creation and, on the other, enliven the scenes of happenings that had taken place on this continent during the modern times. It analyses the details of these images in the works of Russian and Bengali poets and writers, reveals that the place of Africa in literatures of the said two languages was largely influenced by the geographical and historical realities of this eastern continent. It also brings to light that the geographical and historical details are not mere descriptions here. They often happen to be decorative mediums to reach artistic goals. The very disclosures made on the basis of African episodes have been elaborated in the given work in different literary genres and trends.