VII-7. The Middle East and African Horn in the 21st Century. Political, Social and Economic Modernization: Global, Regional and Countries Features in the Light of Dynamic Relativity of Civilization Development

Convener: Alexander A. Tkachenko (Institute for African Studies, Moscow, Russia); e-mail: alexander.tkachenko@inafr.ru

The panel will focus on the following issues:
- More acute problems of modernization in the MENA and African Horn countries in the light of the “Arab spring” and megatrends of the World development.
- “Old” and “new” models of political power: archaic elements and institutions, tradition and modernity.
- Civil society and Islamic tradition in the context of the “Arab spring”.
- The political changes in the states of the Middle East and African Horn. Is potential of the model of authoritarian political power exhausted or not? The stable and unstable models of political power in the region.
- The interconnections between political, economic and social sides of modernization in the light of the “Arab spring”.
- Radicalism, extremism and moderate Islam. Its connections and ties with internal and external factors.
- Conflicts and wars in the Middle East and African Horn. The prospects of its settlement in the light of the “Arab spring” and the growth of uncertainty in the region and the world.