Vol 16, No 1 (2024)

The significance of this research topic is due to the relevance of the problems of modern state-building in the public and political life of North and West Africa. The purpose of the research project is to analyze the causes and consequences of the emergence of radical movements of political Islam in the Maghreb and Sahel at the junction of the XX and XXI centuries and their connection with the shortcomings of national statehood inherent in both African regions. At the same time, the author focuses on the incompleteness of the state-building process, the weakness of institutions and the low level of justification for drawing state borders as concrete examples of such shortcomings that affected the socio-political climate in the Islamized areas adjacent to the Sahara. Based on the materials of sources and the theoretical model of regional security complexes (RSC), the author identified contradictions and diversity in the ideological and value views of the North African ruling circles, analyzed the methodological and spiritual and political foundations of the deeply rooted relationship between criminal and Islamist groups on the example of the activities of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) (аn organization included in the list of terrorist organizations in theRussian Federation is mentioned) and its leaders - Abd al-Malik Drukdel, Mukhtar Belmukhtar, etc. It is proved that “Islamist internationalism” in the Maghreb and Sahel of the 2000s began to take ethnocultural forms, which was caused by the ‘network’ and ‘umbrell’a nature of the AQIM (аn organization included in the list of terrorist organizations in theRussian Federation is mentioned) structure, in which there was no centralized administrative-territorial management scheme. In addition, the distinctive features of the security policy of modern Algeria are shown and the importance of studying interregional contradictions for characterizing the geopolitical and economic reasons for the strengthening of Islamic radicalism in Africa is revealed.

The relevance of the research is due to the growing importance of the Middle East region in the economic development In Russof China in the XXI century, and consequently, the spread of economic and political interests of the latter. The purpose of the study is to determine China’s strategic priorities and the main directions of its political presence aimed at balancing threats and opportunities in such a turbulent region as the Middle East. Given the instability of this region caused by the global anti-terrorist struggle of the United States, the specifics of Chinese policy in the Middle East and North Africa are of interest, since it is China’s interests that are being threatened. With the help of the analytical method, the factors influencing the Middle East policy of the PRC have been identified, which, of course, contributes to the transformation of the regional order. The study concludes that the future of the Chinese presence in the Middle East is determined by China’s global strategy, as well as its vision of its role and the future world order as a whole.

The subject of the study is public disagreements on certain issues of Korean history. The study aims to determine the theoretical principles underlying the memory policies of the conservative government of Yun Seokyeol. On the example of the controversy over the transfer of the bust of the Korean independence movement fighter Hong Beomdo and the restoration of the legacy of Syngman Rhee, the author shows what arguments conservatives and progressives make to defend their position, what tools and techniques they use to establish a certain interpretation of history as the dominant one. The reason for the dispute about the legacy of the fighters for Korean independence, who belonged to the left wing of the national liberation movement, was the decision of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Korea to move the bust of Hong Beomdo, installed in front of the Military Academy, to another place. This decision caused protests from progressive political parties and public organizations, which accused the Yun Seokyeol’s government of an anti-communist approach and disdain for independence fighters. The dispute over Hong Beomdo’s bust also showed that there is no unity among conservatives on this issue. The government of Yun Seokyeol, largely, proceeds in its memory policies from the theoretical approach of the “new right,” the far-right group of the South Korean conservatives, which diminish the importance of anti-Japanese resistance, especially the left wing, in restoring Korean state sovereignty. At the same time, the “new right” proponents highly appreciates the role of the first President Syngman Rhee in the establishment of the Republic of Korea, ensuring its security and prosperity. The conservative government supports public initiatives to restore the positive image of Syngman Rhee, who resigned as a result of the 1960 April Revolution. Progressives have an extremely negative attitude towards conservative’s attempts to revive the legacy of Syngman Rhee, who was guilty of the presidential election fraud and political repressions.

The study, executed in the form of a case-method, focuses on a story from the chronicle of the prominent Egyptian historian Abd al-Rahman al-Jabarti, describing the murder of Yusuf Bey, one of the ruling emirs of Egypt. By using this particular historical episode, the author illustrates the complicated relationship between the Muslim religious leaders of Egypt (ulama) and the military elite of the country represented by the neo-Mamluk “nobility”. Investigating these, at the first glance, ordinary circumstances of this gloomy case, the author comes to an unexpected conclusion. However, according to the researcher, the assassination of this key figure of the Egyptian military elite does not fit into the traditional struggle between or within the ruling factions, that filled the entire history of Egypt under the Ottomans. According to the author, the main reason for Yusuf Bey’s unenviable fate was his unceasing confrontation with the representatives of the Alim corps, the guardians and interpreters of the centuries-old Muslim heritage. By putting himself in opposition to the Muslim scholars, imprisoning and threatening them, infringing on their lives for the sake of his personal ambitions, Yusuf Bey violated the principles of respect and deference to the holders of spiritual authority and suffered the deserved punishment according to the generally accepted norms of behavior among the ruling elite of Ottoman Egypt.

The historical work of the first half of the 13th century “Jawāmi‘ ul-Hikāyāt wa Lawāmi‘ ul-Riwāyāt” (“A Collection of Anekdotes and Brilliant Stories”), written by Sayyīd al-Dīn Muḥammad ‘Awfī, includes a significant section on the history of the nomadic Turkic tribes of Desht-i Qipchāq. Despite the fact that this monument is well known to researchers, this section from “Jawāmi‘ ul-Hikāyāt...” has never been fully translated into Russian. It was published in the first volume of “Turkestan in the Era of the Mongol invasion” by V.V. Barthold on the basis of several handwritten lists. The purpose of this study is, on the one hand, to acquaint researchers with the content of this section from the work of Muḥammad ‘Awfī, and on the other hand, to highlight its historiographical connection with earlier monuments of Muslim historiography. The conducted research once again demonstrated the fact that the basis for the section “Jawāmi‘ ul-Hikāyāt...”, dedicated to the nomadic Turkic tribes of Desht-i Qipchāq, was the work of the first half of the XII century. “Kitāb Ṭabā’i‘ al-Ḥayawān” (“On the Nature of Animals”) by an outstanding Muslim scientist - Sharaf al-Zamān Ṭāhir al-Marwazī. For his part, Muḥammad ‘Awfī did not fully cite the story of an earlier author: the part of the text “Ṭabā’i‘ al-Ḥayawān”, where it was about the tribal union of the Qïrqïz, attracted his greatest attention. Other nomadic Turkic tribes in “Jawāmi‘ ul-Hikāyāt...” are described in much less detail, sometimes with obvious mistakes and distortions, which were made either by Muḥammad ‘Awfī himself, or by the copyist of his work, when transmitting toponyms and ethnonyms borrowed from the text of “Ṭabā’i‘ al-Ḥayawān”. Thus, the evolution of the narrative about the nomadic Turkic tribes of Desht-i Qipchāq in Muslim historiography of the 12th - early 13th centuries is quite clearly traced when comparing these two sections from “Ṭabā’i‘ alḤayawān” by al-Marwazī and “Jawāmi‘ ul-Hikāyāt...” by Muḥammad ‘Awfī.