SOME TRENDS AND PROSPECTS OF POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT OF LEADING STATES SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA AND LATIN AMERICA

Abstract

The article examines trends and prospects for political development of the leading states in the developing world. The author analyses the factors which encourage the rise of new centers of power, as well as trends and prerequisites of their emergence in such regions as Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. In the post- Cold War international system the emergence of neo-imperial integrative centers in the developing world is more probable, given such factors as authoritarian political regimes in the leading developing countries, inconsistent and fragmented modernization, increased multi-polarity in international relations, scarce natural resources and expansion of technologies. The main characteristics of political relations in Sub-Saharan Africa are authoritarianism, political instability, the use of violence and the sacred political power. These features as well as a high level of competition for natural resources increasingly foster the emergence of neo-imperial formations by external forces, relying on the most aggressive authoritarian regimes, or by the leaders of African development (above all, South Africa). The statehood of Latin American countries looks more mature than that of Sub-Saharan Africa; the US infl uence in the region Is likely to be decisive again for its political development. Nevertheless, intensifying integration in Latin America coupled with further economic fragmentation and political instability might lead to the establishment of neo-imperial associations around the main centers of power in the region. Thus, the imperial paradigm has the potential to be realized in the policy of some states in the both regions. Amid increasing political infl uence of the considered countries and their consolidating dominance, subordinate position of the peripheral regions and states to the regional powers turns out to be a reality.