No 8 (2024)

The article is devoted to the general elections in South Africa, held on May 29, 2024 and their consequences. For the first time in 30 years after the dismantling of the apartheid regime, the African National Congress did not achieve a majority in parliament and had to look for cooperation with the parties that were in opposition. As a result, Cyril Ramaphosa was re-elected as president, and after difficult and long negotiations, on June 30, the formation of the Government of National Unity was announced. It was supported by 11 political parties, including the Democratic Alliance, which previously was the main opposition force. However, other major political parties - the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the Umkhonto We Sizwe party headed by former South African President Jacob Zuma - found themselves outside of it.

The food security of African Small Island Developing States (SIDS) is one of the most important economic, social and humanitarian problems. A third of all the world’s hungry will come live on the African continent. The picture is even more acute for the SIDS due to the specifics of their geographical location, the structure of economy, the level of agricultural and food production development. Agriculture accounts for between 36% of GDP in the Comoros and 2.9% in the Seychelles. Along with undernourishment and nutritional deficiencies (“hidden hunger”), this group of countries is characterized by high rates of obesity and overweight. While there are common food security challenges, especially high levels of economic and environmental vulnerability, African SIDS approach them differently. Despite the illusory nature of achieving self-sufficiency in food, they nevertheless adopt government programs aimed at improving the efficiency of agri-food systems. However, some of them only (Seychelles and Mauritius) have government programs or strategies aimed at comprehensively addressing the food security problem. International organizations provide a lot of assistance to ensure food security for the population of African SIDS.

Geographical location of the African continent at the crossroads of the most important trade routes between Europe, Asia and the Americas, wealth of its natural resources, demographic potential, economic growth and increasing productive capacity predetermine the intensity of the involvement of individual African countries in world trade. The study of the factors and structural characteristics of Africa’s foreign trade is relevant for identifying the most promising areas of cooperation with the continent. In order to intensify their participation in world trade as well as to achieve economic growth through foreign trade, the countries of the continent are seeking to increase the exports of their goods and services, attracting foreign investment and participating in regional and international integration processes. Understanding how African countries as a whole and individually carry out their external economic activities can help identify opportunities for investment and cooperation. In this regard, the main focus of the present study is the parametrization of patterns of foreign economic activity of African countries and the analysis of the main approaches of individual countries of the continent to the development of foreign economic activity.

Chief Minister of Tamilnadu and President of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party M.K.Stalin is one of the key players in modern India’s politics. He has got many supporters in South India states, and his unusual name attracts a lot of interest to him and his activities outside the country. The formation of the Indian Stalin as a political leader, his leadership style, priorities, achievements and problems are the focus of the writer’s attention. Compared to his autocratic and formidable Soviet namesake, the Tamilnadu Stalin is considered to be democratic and pragmatic. He is a proponent of the coalition alliance of parties that oppose to the dominance of Hindu nationalism, the conservative Bharatiya Janata Party with its leader Narendra Modi in the political arena of India. In the interview to The Week, India, in July, 2023, Stalin said that the BJP sought the constitutional review and the destruction of the Indian federation and the union of states to substitute it with the autocratic state with one language and one religion. The BJP leaders accused Stalin’s party of corruption and nepotism in response. During the parliamentary election campaign held in April-June 2024, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party under the leadership of Stalin won another victory in Tamilnadu with 22 out of 39 deputy mandates and thus took one more step to the status of the national party. Nevertheless, Stalin’s ambitions do not extend beyond Tamilnadu. He tries not to stand out and prefers to stay in the shadow of more venerable Indian political leaders.

On March 26, 2024, the Center for the Study of the Russian-African Relations and African States’ Foreign Policy, Institute for African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, held an all-Russian scientific conference on the topic “Africa in contemporary system of international relations”. The conference was attended by scientists, teachers, postgraduates, applicants, and students from a number of scientific and educational institutions, namely: Institute for African Studies of the Russian Academy of Science, the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Patrice Lumumba Peoples’ Friendship University, Lobachevsky National Research Nizhny Novgorod State University and the Institute of Social Sciences of the I.M.Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University. In two sections of the conference, 22 scientific reports were heard and discussed, which reflected the results of the implementation of the first 10-year plan of Agenda 2063, the activities of leading international players on the continent, as well as Russian-African cooperation after the second Russia - Africa summit.

The article considers the complexity of the search for identity by the Afro-Germans in the last quarter of the 20th century based on the life path of the prominent teacher, poetess and activist May Ayim. The author presents a number of stages of her literary, scientific and educational activities. And examines the specifics of May Ayim’s self-awareness in the creative direction, studying of legacy and resistance in her poems and essays, as well as the integration of her work into the German-language literary space. Drawing on her literary contributions, political activism, and struggles against racism and discrimination, this article sheds light on Ayim’s impact on the Afro-German community and her enduring legacy in the German literary landscape. The article examines the problems of perception of Afro-Germans in Germany at the turn of 1980-1990, as well as May Ayim’s personal contribution to activist activities in Germany. This research aims to celebrate Ayim’s personal contribution to Afro-German literature and to changing the situation regarding Africans and half-breeds in Germany.

Review of the book: Filippov V.R. The African Policy of French President E.Macron: Chronicle of Action and Evolution of Ideas (2017-2022) (Moscow, 2023) 214 p. (In Russ.). ISBN 978-5-91298-282-8