AFRICAN STUDIES IN RUSSIA Works of the Institute for African Studies earbook 2014–2016 of the Russian Academy of Sciences Yearbook 2014–2016 AFRICAN STUDIES IN RUSSIA Y RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Editorial Board INSTITUTE FOR AFRICAN STUDIES R.V. Dmitriev (Editor-in-chief) I.O. Abramova, D.M. Bondarenko, L.L. Fituni Editors: AFRICAN STUDIES L.L. Fituni and I.O. Abramova IN RUSSIA Translation from Russian by S.V. Kostelyanets, N.A. Voronina Works of the Institute for African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences African Studies in Russia. Works of the Institute for African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Yearbook 2014–2016. – Moscow: Yearbook 2014–2016 IAfr, 2017, 140 p. The publication is the latest in the African Studies in Russia series of compilations and contains full articles and annotations of the most important – from the point of view of editors – works of Russian Africanists over a certain period. The authors work at the Institute for African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS). The present issue covers the years 2014 to 2016 and consists of two sections. The first section presents conceptual articles on Africa published in authoritative journals. The second section offers synopses of books by Russian authors on economics, cul- tural anthropology, social and political development, gender studies, and international relations of African countries. MOSCOW The main objective of the triennial series of compilations is to introduce new find- ings of Russian Africanists to interested foreign scholars who do not speak Russian. Institute for African Studies RAS ISBN 978-5-91298-202-6 © Institute for African Studies RAS, 2017 2017 © Authors, 2017 © Abisheva G.M., design, 2017 CONTENTS Articles Irina Abramova. Potential of the African Continent in the Updated Strategy of Development of the Russian Federation …………………… 5 Irina Abramova, Leonid Fituni. The Economic Attractiveness and Investment Potential of Sub-Saharan Africa …………………………… 16 Dmitri Bondarenko. Global Governance and Diasporas: The Case of African Migrants in the USA …………………………………………… 32 Tatyana Denisova. The “Wave of Democratisation” and Electoral Processes in Sub-Saharan Africa ………………………………………. 50 Ruslan Dmitriev, Ivan Zakharov. Inter-Communal Conflict in Nigeria as a Result of Religious Polarization of the African Population 59 Leonid Fituni, Irina Abramova. A Reserve Army of ISIS: Resources and Manoeuvre………………………………………………………….. 66 Valentina Gribanova. Students from the Countries of North Africa in the Russian Higher Schools: Problems of Adaptation ………………. 76 Vladimir Pavlov. BRICS: China’s New Models for Stimulating Eco- nomic Development and Modernization in the Least Developed Coun- tries of Africa …………………………………………………….. 81 Anatoly Savateev. Prophets of Islam in Tropical Africa – the Fathers of Civilizational Identity ……………………………………………….. 92 Alexey Vasiliev. Arab Revolutions and the Protest Movement: Causes, Driving Forces, and Results …………………………………… 97 Nataliya Zherlitsyna. Orthodox Greek Community in Tunisia Under the Auspices of the Russian Empire (With Reference to AVPRI) ……... 104 Synopsis Economic Studies ……………………………………………………… 109 Sociological And Political Studies …………………………………….. 113 International Studies …………………………………………………… 115 Socio-Cultural Studies ………………………………………………… 121 Gender Studies ………………………………………………………… 127 North African Studies ………………………………………………… 129 Tropical African Studies ……………………………………………… 134 Southern African Studies ……………………………………………… 137 ARTICLES development now in formation. It follows that all the countries which claim to be global actors in the international arena and future world economy are Irina Abramova expanding into the African market, rich in resources and mineral reserves. Their objective is to secure their global positions by investing into the emerg- POTENTIAL OF THE AFRICAN CONTINENT IN THE UPDATED ing economic chains. Such an approach allows to go beyond trade relations STRATEGY OF DEVELOPMENT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION with African countries, and to gain a foothold in Africa for the future, guaran- teeing an inflow of a substantial amount of the continent’s exclusive re- sources for their own, including innovative, development in the new eco- At present, the horizons for the development of the Russian economy are nomic environment. largely constrained by the narrowing potential and gradual exhaustion of the Today the old and new actors of the world economy have engaged into current model of economic development, still largely based on the exports of tough geo-economic and geo-political scramble for Africa. The apple of dis- raw materials and other primary products. The mistaken choice by post- cord are natural resources, growing markets, human resources, and the sym- Soviet reformers of the unlimited reliance on future foreign investment and pathy of the most rapidly growing continent. Political gains also matter as the good will of the global market brought about broad-scale deindustrializa- they add to economic co-operation with Africa. African states make up al- tion and historically unprecedented outflow of national wealth and capital, most one fourth of the voting members at the UN and other organizations. aggravated by the ever increasing external political and military pressure and Their support is an important strategic reserve in the global diplomatic arena, western economic sanctions. vital for the establishment of a joint force in the process of restructuring exis- According to expert estimates, the combined costs of financial sanctions ting institutions, mechanisms, and structures of global governance, and alter- and the fall in oil prices cost Russia about 0.6 trillion dollars over 2014–2017 ing the balance of power in the world. period. In these conditions the goals of development strategy outlined by the The economic weight of Africa is on the rise. Over the last two-three President of Russia underscore the indispensability of an undelayed real re- years, major think tanks, consulting and rating agencies, investment banks structuring of the economy on the basis of its innovative modernization and and research centres from many countries have repeatedly stated that the diversification. A significant role in the formation of such a mechanism can 21st century will see Africa as the most rapidly developing region – region be played by the intensification of economic activity in the markets of those that will define the pattern and the growth rate of developed countries. This countries which today are more open and inclined to cooperate with Russia, will also have a bearing on the issues of raw materials, energy resources, and on the one hand, and have significant resource and growth prospects, on the human capital. The penetration into African markets and the synergy between other. In my opinion African countries belong to such category. the Old World and Africa is one and only, if any, option for Europe to retain So far, the current Russian strategies of economic development have been its geopolitical weight and maintain living standards on the same level in the employing the opportunities provided by the African direction for the purposes 21st century. For China, Russia, and other BRICS countries, as well as the of the recovery and diversification of the domestic manufacturing, the construc- US, both resources and geopolitics rank high on the national agenda, which tion industry, the infrastructure, and the services sector to rather a small extent. makes it a must to co-operate with Africa. Meanwhile, the African track opens a window of opportunity to restore and In recent years, Africa has no longer been considered a backward region boost industries, other than of primary sector in Russia, as well as to sharpen on the periphery of the world. Globalization accounted for a rapid growth of skills and upgrade mechanisms of penetration into highly competitive deve- size, diversity, inter-connectedness, and inter-dependence at the level of state loped and transition economies. This is exactly what China did in the 1980s and people-to-people relations alike. This resulted in a shift in the world and 1990s when it was only about to become the global economic power. economy, with countries swapping their roles and inequality being fossilized Over the recent years the leading world powers and the centres of eco- as a new global economic model takes shape. nomic power came to realize that resource, human, and economic potential of Brought by globalization, the current trends in the world economy put Af- Africa is of high value for the world economy and the new model of global rican countries on the back foot. With the changes in the late 20th century, the 5 6 role of Africa saw no changes for the better. What makes it worse, the Afri- predicts that “just like China 30 years ago and India 20 years ago, the African can share in the international markets shrank even further and the continent continent is about to “take off”. The perception of Africa as a poverty- stands little chance of ‘plugging in’ the world economy on an equal footing. stricken and backward continent with dire prospects does not correspond to As developed countries transitioned to post-industrial and innovative deve- reality any longer. True, a lot is yet to be done. Yet, step by step SSA is lopment model, Africa’s economy fell further behind. True, as for macroeco- catching up. nomic indicators and HDI, most African countries are still lagging behind (in The rating agency Standard & Poor’s list markets with the