Suchergebnisse

Local government structures are believed to be the essence of participatory democracy. It is through local government that citizens come into direct contact with their elected government, as power flows from national to local government. It is against this backdrop that the new local government structures were adopted in South Africa: as a measure to extend democracy to the larger citizenry. However, local government structures have not been able to live up to expectations, as they are generally characterized by sluggishness in terms of service delivery; failure to attract community participation; and, lately—towards the run-up of March 1 2006 local elections—mass protests and uprisings against these problems. The problem has been explained in terms of lack of capacity and technical know-how. This paper aims to go beyond such explanations, and argues that the local government "mayhem" has to do with structural limitations when it comes to drawing citizens' participation. Thus, in addition to lack of capacity, there is a problem of exclusion which undermines local government.

The article discusses the peculiarities of relations and views of the young generation as a social group of the population on the formation of national development projects of the Republic of South Ossetia. The social situation of young people and existing problems in this field in the context of post-conflict society, their perceptions of the development of economic and political processes and statehood in the "unrecognized republic" are analysed. The attitude and, thus, the influence of young people on the construction of the identification and value bases of South Ossetian society after the 2008 armed conflict and recognition of the independence of the Republic by Russia and a number of other States of the world are shown. The work analyses the possible projects of national development of South Ossetia and the perception of youth of the process of their formation: the construction of an independent state, the development of integration processes, associated relations with Russia and reintegration policy with Georgia, as well as the implementation of the European Union program "Involvement without recognition" in the territory of South Ossetia. The author of the article explores the possibilities and problems of implementing these directions of development of South Ossetia at the present stage.

В первые годы нового тысячелетия в Африке возродилисьростки надежды: некоторые страны при относительностабильных макроэкономических условиях смогли достичьустойчивого роста народного хозяйства. В среднем годо-вой рост показателей континента за 2000–2007 гг. соста-вил 5% – почти на 2% выше мирового уровня. Сравниваяс «азиатскими тиграми», оптимисты ведут речь об «афри-канских львах» – Кении или Камеруне, – которые, как ка-залось, уже завоевали необходимые высоты, чтобы достиг-нуть уровня развития пороговых стран континента.

Un elemento importante en las relaciones Estado-sociedad es la forma en que los Estados regulan los comportamientos individuales a través de diferentes tipos de sanciones; ejemplo de ello es el modo en que los Estados intentan modificar la conducta de las personas hacia las drogas ilegales. A partir del marco conceptual propuesto por Knill, Adam y Hurka (2015) para el análisis de las políticas morales en Europa, este artículo explora los diferentes estilos estatales de regulación de las drogas ilegales en Sudamérica. Los autores mencionados proponen una clasificación a partir de la consistencia entre los límites legales que se imponen a ciertas conductas y las consecuencias que implican para los ciudadanos que deciden no cumplir tales límites, lo que resulta en cuatro estilos estatales de regulación: autoritario, autoritario-benevolente, permisivo-punitivo y permisivo. Se toma la legislación vigente en el subcontinente para comparar las diferentes medidas que los Estados imponen ante la posesión de drogas ilegales y las sanciones que conllevan. Si bien se trata de un trabajo descriptivo, este mapa nos permite ver que en Sudamérica prevalecen leyes severas en relación con esta práctica. El trabajo contribuye al estudio de los estilos estatales de regulación al enfocarse en otra región geográfica.

The author studies the specifics of lace in the territory of the South Black Earth Russia in the 19th – early 20th centuries. The author has analyzed the history of lace crafts in the Yelets and Mtsensk districts of the Orlovsk province, and in the Zadonsk district of the Voronezh province. Based on archive materials the article determines such features of lace crafts development as the uniqueness of lace; the dependence of the growth of the influence of buyers on the pace of industry development; presence of the qualitative indicators of the manufacturing process inversely proportional to the quantitative; expanding the range of manufactured lace; the expansion of the sales area of lace; activation of the attention of individuals and public institutions to revive the specificity and individuality of local products lace. It was concluded that the impact of identified features on the pace of development of the lace industry in the South Black Earth Russia and on the development of Russian business in general.

Analyzing the history of lace crafts, the author describes the conditions of industrial activity lace, which showed the formation of the capitalist forms of lace makers' work. The features of the capitalist forms of labour which characterized crafts activity are pointed out. The peculiarities of lace sales organization in local and distant markets are studied. In addition to interprovince and interdistrict markets the author investigates the material on exporting goods abroad. The main reasons for the expansion of sales geography determine the change in product mix.

The author raises the issue related to the history of the preservation of unique lace made following the traditions of Russian folk art of their ancestors. The problem consisted in the fact that the buyers were not interested in the originality and identity of the goods. As a result, this led to the reduction of the original performance by increasing the amount of work on the standard models.

The specific of development of South African society was in a great deal predefined by the level of socially-historical development of the South African region to colonial encroachment, and by the features of the transformations introduced southward the African continent by the English colonialists. The colonial past of South Africa continues to be saved in memory and psychology of new generations of native population. And for the best comprehension of socio-political difficulties into that the people of this region run on the modern stage of their development, it is necessary from positions of retrospective analysis to study the process of colonization and influence of methods of her realization on a political, socio-economic and cultural situation in South Africa.

This preprint examines the migration of the population of the regions of the South of Russia in the second half of the 20th - early 21st centuries. Migration processes are considered in two "dimensions". On the one hand, their development is investigated in a historical perspective, in connection with which migration in the Soviet and post-Soviet times is considered separately. On the other hand, migration flows are opposed to each other in terms of "distance", for which intraregional and interregional migrations are separately characterized.

The article studies the influence of Russia and Turkey on the political development of the South Caucasus in 1918. The choice of 1918 year is conditioned by its transitivity in the relations of two countries with regard to the Caucasus region: peace treaty was concluded, but cooperation was not achieved yet. After the fall of the monarchy Russia entered the stage of reconstruction, while Turkey was on the verge of the final fall of the Young Turks. For both countries the territory of the South Caucasus became the stage of political struggle for realizing imperial ambitions and an attempt to prevent the final territorial disintegration of states. The author shows a difference between Russian and Turkish political approaches. Turkey acted directly, holding negotiations and introducing troops, while Russia had no contacts with Caucasus officials and tried to weaken the Turkish activity in the region through Germany. The conflict nature of the region, which had earlier been suppressed by the power of Russian monarchy, was revealed now. The author presents the political development of the South Caucasus in the form of evolution from the idea of autonomy within the Russian statehood to the proclamation of independence of Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia. Considering the South Caucasus political development in the international context is conditioned by dependence on external challenges, which determined the decisions and actions of Caucasian political elites. On the one hand, the newly formed Caucasian governments declared their independence at the international level. On the other hand, these governments were dependent on the leaders of world politics in achieving their goals. The participation of Russia and Turkey in the political processes in the South Caucasus was associated with the contradictory aims. Both parties didn't want to be eliminated from the Caucasian region. At the same time, they tried to avoid military conflict. The Turkish government's motivation to use the military power consisted in the need to protect the Muslim population, but not in opposition to Russia. In general, year 1918 marked two opposite perspectives for both countries: for Russia - the loss of the Caucasus as a territory and a sphere of influence; for Turkey - strengthening positions through the local Muslim population.

The article is devoted to the current problem of student and youth protest actions that took place in South Africa in 2015-2017. The author shows their influence on the political life of the country. The socioeconomic and ideological reasons for the initiation of the student riots are analyzed. The connection of protests with the general crisis of higher education in South Africa is traced. The study is based on the analysis of the South African print media of recent years. The author analyzes main events and results of the protests that took place in the autumn of 2015, the aggravation of the situation in the sphere of higher education in connection with the student riots in the autumn of 2016, and the unsuccessful attempt to hold the Higher Education National Convention in March 2017. These events became the stages of the movement "Fees must fall" for the abolition of universities fees. The author evaluates the participation of modern youth and student parties and associations in the protests. It is noted that youth and student protests are used by the left and radical parties of the South African political spectrum in the struggle for influence in the country.

On the basis of recent studies of modern ethno-political processes the author shows the new threats and challenges of uncontrolled migration flows from the Middle East and North Africa. These processes have created a serious threat not only to EU countries but also in other continents. The author analyzes and forecasts the growing conflict potential in the Caspian region, which is particularly applied to Southern Russia. On the basis of a comparative analysis of the old and the modern conflicts, the author makes conclusion about the continuity of data due to the lack of development of negative processes of democratic processes and the low level of tolerance in the regions of the North Caucasus, which is a breeding ground for Islamic radicalism. The only constructive solution to this problem in the present period is the socio-economic stabilization of the society and the revival of the principles of tolerance since the Soviet period, taking into account regional peculiarities of the peoples living in these territories. As a result, it is necessary to provide recommendations and suggestions of scientists, economists and social scientists to expand intellectual scientific potential with a degree of respect for the principles of tolerance. In conclusion it is noted that today for Russia there cannot be a future without policy capable of ensuring harmony in inter-ethnic and religious relations, the cooperation of all constituent peoples. (author's abstract)

This article analyzes the apparently dysfunctional democracies that haven become common in Latin America. Although democratic in the conventional sense that national leadership is periodically contested and renewed through standardized electoral procedures, such regimes also exhibit systematic political dysfunctionality. The author evaluates experiences with democracy in Argentina, Colombia, and Venezuela in order to illustrate this concept, and examines their comparative and theoretical implications.

The strategic position of the South Caucasus prompted the regional players, Russia, Iran and Turkey, to seek more significant influence on this territory. Israel is not a direct actor in the South Caucasus. Still, the region is of great strategic importance for the foreign policy doctrine of the Israeli state, whose interests only intensified as Iran's influence had expanded after the lifting of sanctions in 2016. This article focuses on the region's importance to Israel in its regional and national security. Based on this, the paper identifies and analyzes Israel's geopolitical priorities and interests in the South Caucasus. The primary attention is paid to the main directions of Israel's foreign policy, focused on protecting its vital interests. Since the creation of the Israeli state, the central foreign policy doctrines have been researched. The main aspects of Israel's relations and interests with the region's states (particularly the role of Iran) have been analyzed. Israel's foreign policy is primarily tied to its deeply rooted historical traditions and is based on the principles of realism. Israel's interests and policy in the Caucasus have three main aspects: strategic - a means of encircling Iran, medium-term - the energy supply zone, short-term - a market for the sale of high-tech weapons and ammunition. At the same time, these dimensions pose a challenge for the three traditional regional players - Russia, Turkey and Iran - who are very reluctant to admit extra-regional actors. The novelty of the article lies in consideration of Israel as a new geopolitical actor in the South Caucasus in the triangle of relations between regional and local states, as well as a zone for ensuring Israel's geo-security. The main provisions and conclusions of the article can be used in scientific and pedagogical activities in assessing the issues of regional and national security, foreign policy and geopolitics of the South Caucasus.