CRITICISM AND BIBLIOGRAPHY. REVIEWS

Delhi: Kalinga Publications. 2000. IV, 315 p.*

(c) 2002 V. G. SHUBIN

The book by R. Ramchandani, a well - known Indian researcher of development problems, is devoted to the situation of the Third World countries - India and African states-in the period after the end of the Cold War, and their search for, as the author puts it, a new "anchorage", i.e., a support after the emergence of the so-called new world order.

According to the author, such a search is conducted on the basis of what has already been achieved in the framework of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) "asserting the sovereignty of a post-colonial state and countering the Western hegemonic order in the context of the Cold war" (p. 259). At the same time, he notes that, despite the similarity of goals, there are serious differences between the countries of the three regions - Asia, Africa and Latin America - both in the problems of "dependence" and "insufficient development", and in the processes of state formation.

Focusing on a study of India and Tropical Africa, Ramchandani tries to find out whether structural adjustment programs sponsored by the IMF and the World Bank are or are not appropriate for the weakened economies of these regions and how South-South cooperation helps to overcome this weakness.

According to the author, the peculiarities of the historical development of these regions had a serious impact on their receptivity to ongoing reforms, which, however, was underestimated for a long time both within the NAM and in establishing ties between India and African countries.

R. Ramchandani describes the goals set by NAM as "three D's": "detente, decolonisation, development "(detente, decolonisation, development). At the same time, he does not share the opinion of those who question the very expediency of NAM's existence after the end of the Cold War, and claims that the "Durban Declaration for the New Millennium" adopted at the 12th summit conference of this movement held in South Africa in 1998 " confirmed NAM's faith in the principles laid down by the fathers- founders" (p. 261).

Although the title of the book under review begins with the words "Non-Aligned Movement", the coverage of NAM activities in it, in my opinion, can hardly be called exhaustive. In the chapter "The limits of the NAM South-South Strategy" (pp. 83 - 108), the author confines himself in political terms only to a few summits of the movement, and cooperation within its framework ("South-South") covers almost only in the field of economics. For example, the activities of the Coordination Office in New York, headed by the representative of South Africa to the UN, working groups on human rights, disarmament, peacekeeping operations, etc. are left out of the brackets.

The book deals more successfully with the experience and prospects of cooperation between the countries of the South in the post-Cold War world (pp. 191-214). The author is quite optimistic about its prospects, provided that the South chooses an "autonomous model" of development (p. 273) and its individual countries pursue "more positive policies" in matters of cooperation, seeking to strengthen the complementarity of their economies. While recognizing that the economies of the South are in a complex interdependence with advanced industrialized countries, Ramchandani believes that attempts to create an "alternative system of Third World union" are not in vain (p. 273).

The author supports his thesis with an analysis of India's economic and technical cooperation with sub-Saharan Africa over half a century, the foundations of which were laid under colonial regimes. Highlighting in this process, in addition to the "Colonial Phase", the "Nehru Years", the "South-South Framework" and, finally, the " Post-Cold War Perspective, especially after the races-

* Ramchandani R. The Non-Aligned Movement and the Third World Development Dilemma in the Post-Cold War Era: A Comparative Study of India and Sub-Saharan Africa. Delhi: Kalinga Publications, 2000, IV, 315c.

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the Soviet Union in 1991", he rightly notes that at the last stage, both in India and in African countries, there were fears that "global and regional interdependence" would push them back to the system of production relations "center - periphery", characteristic of the XIX century (p. 275), and these countries they will become an object of "economic domination of the North". However, as the author writes, such " fear of neo-colonialism "was largely unjustified, since in the period after the Second World War, at least some Third World countries, including such large ones as China and India," came out of the woods " (p.276), i.e. began to play an independent role. Speaking about the prospects for the development of Indian-African economic and technological ties, he highlights the success of his country in developing intermediate technologies suitable for medium-level enterprises. The author notes the creation of joint ventures and the development of other forms of industrial cooperation, which especially expanded after 1991, can be considered as a manifestation of the desire of Indian economic circles to take the place of the former USSR in Africa to a certain extent.

Another optimistic forecast of Ramchandani is related to the emergence of a "non-racial, democratic South Africa", which contributed to the rapid growth of India's economic ties with South Africa and with other African countries.

However, returning to more global issues, the author is forced to admit that even after "the world system has emerged from the dark shadow of the cold war into the sunlight of glasnost and perestroika," " the age of enlightenment is still a dream."

Turning further to globalization, which is seen as a "historical process", Ramchandani refuses to accept that "global technological integration heralds the triumph of capitalism" (p. 279), and agrees with those who believe that the main economic resource of the "post-capitalist world" is knowledge, not capital, natural resources or labor. Moreover, with the expected "convergence of the socialist and capitalist paths of development", the world system will need the "cultural contribution" of Asian and African civilizations, which will help the world approach multipolarity "or, rather, become polycentric in economic terms" (p. 279). As for unipolarity, which has led to a large dependence of low-income countries on the "Western bloc", in the author's opinion, it is only a "transitional phase" (p. 280).

Ramchandani believes that in the conditions created after the end of the Cold War, the main struggle of the South, including within the NAM, should be waged "precisely for economic independence" (p. 286). The author speaks of the inevitability of "many battles and negotiations between the North and the South" before the problem of underdevelopment is solved, and calls on NAM member countries to strengthen their "common ideological front" and review the principles and goals of the movement, taking into account "the changing paradigm of the emerging polycentric global order" (p. 262).

"It is the turn of the South, if the South seizes the opportunity and takes the bull by the horns," R. Ramchandani concludes his research.

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