Middle East and Islamic Studies
New at Brill in Open Access: Encyclopædia Iranica Online
Encyclopaedia Iranica is the most renowned reference work in the field of Iran studies. Founded by the late Professor Ehsan Yarshater and edited at the Ehsan Yarshater Center for Iranian Studies at Columbia University, this monumental international project brings together the scholarship about Iran of thousands of authors around the world.
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Sign upEncyclopædia Iranica Online Now Freely Accessible at Brill
The Ehsan Yarshater Center for Iranian Studies at Columbia University, New York, and Brill are delighted to announce that the Encyclopædia Iranica Online is now freely accessible at Brill’s Reference Works Platform. Encyclopædia Iranica is the comprehensive academic reference work dedicated to the study of Iranian civilization in the Middle East, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent.
Ancient Iran Series Added to Brill’s Publishing Portfolio
As part of their growing portfolio in Middle East and Islamic Studies, Brill has signed an agreement for the take-over of the book series Ancient Iran Series. With its coverage of ancient, pre-, and early-Islamic Iran, this book series complements other book series with a more modern focus on this geographical area, as well as the various other journals and encyclopaedias Brill publishes in this field.
Read an interview with Geert Jan van Gelder
The longstanding series Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 1: The Near and Middle East recently reached its 150th volume by publishing the special Prominent Murder Victims of the Pre- and Early Islamic Periods Including the Names of Murdered Poets. We caught up with Geert Jan van Gelder, editor and translator of the volume.
Acquisitions Editors
Brill
Maurits van den Boogert
Nicolette van der Hoek
Abdurraouf Oueslati
Teddi Dols
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
Jehona Kicaj
Mauritius continued to be an African model case with respect to economic growth, social stability and modernisation. Based on the principles of democratic governance, globalisation and rapid technological innovation, Mauritius has leaped from being a least-developed country at independence (1968) to a middle-income country in the new millennium. Forward-looking government, regional integration and an open market approach to foreign investment and trade proved their effectiveness again in 2004. Some important changes in the political arena dominated domestic politics, including a change in the leadership, but electoral reform made no significant progress. The active foreign policy approach was reinforced and macroeconomic indicators improved.
The Mo Ibrahim Index of African Governance again ranked Mauritius as a top performer on the continent in terms of rule of law, personal security, accountability, persistence of democratic institutions, and sustainable economic opportunities. In the ‘Democracy Index’ by the Economist Intelligence Unit, Mauritius was ranked 18th out of 167 states, and was the only African country classified as a “full democracy”. No spectacular events were recorded during the year.
2014 will perhaps go down in the history of the island as the year that shook the Mauritian democratic picture perfect. The general elections brought defeat to former prime minister Ramgoolam as a precursor to his later arrest. While foreign policy largely involved Mauritius’s traditional European partners, China and India took centre stage in international relations. Given its strategic location, Mauritius was also positioning itself as a gateway to Africa. Growing inequality and poverty presented the potential risk of social explosion. Despite efforts to alleviate poverty, the country experienced a rise in the number of poor households and a deteriorating Gini-coefficient.
Domestically, the year was dominated by the electoral victories of the ‘Alliance Lepep’; the arrest of ex-premier Ramgoolam; the crisis of the Labour and mmm parties; and the ramifications of several irregular financial schemes. In its foreign relations, Mauritius tried to balance the rising interests of India and China in the Indian Ocean and turn them to its advantage. The dispute with Britain over the Chagos archipelago also featured prominently. Despite a persistent economic slowdown, the financial services sector and tourism did well. As in 2014, the country ranked first in Africa with regard to governance and human development, although unemployment was relatively high and gender inequality deep-rooted.
As the Alliance Lepep (People’s Alliance) coalition government enjoyed a comfortable parliamentary majority and no elections were scheduled for 2016, the domestic political scene was expected to remain stable. In September, however, Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth announced his intention to step down and hand over the premiership to his son, Finance Minister Pravind Jugnauth. The constitutionality of the decision was strongly contested. In addition, Deputy Prime Minister Xavier-Luc Duval and his Mauritian Social-Democratic Party left the ruling coalition in December. By year’s end, political stability had been replaced by uncertainty. Adding to the short- to medium-term concerns were the consequences of the revised double taxation agreement with India and of the British referendum vote to exit the eu. With regard to Mauritius’ claim to the British-held Chagos archipelago, critical reversals were registered when the uk government decided against resettlement of the Chagossian people and announced that the defence agreement with the us was to be extended for a further 20 years. gdp growth was estimated at 3.8% and Mauritius continued to lead African rankings on governance, economic development and social welfare. With no military forces, the country was not involved in any armed conflict.
After a disputed transfer of power from Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth to his son Pravind in January, the domestic political situation stabilized, although Mauritius continued to be plagued by high-level cases of corruption. Brexit and the termination of the eu sugar protocol called for foreign trade and policy adjustments, while the government cautiously and successfully navigated the mounting rivalry between India and China. A major diplomatic breakthrough was achieved at the un on the issue of the Chagos archipelago. With modest gdp growth, an ambitious development model was launched, focusing inter alia on expansion of infrastructure. Overall, Mauritius maintained a leading position in Africa regarding governance and socio-economic development. Having no armed forces, the country was not involved in any military conflict.
Mauritius celebrated on 12 March the fiftieth anniversary of its independence, an occasion that prompted many to take stock of the country’s achievements. But the year was marked by a number of events that were not always favourable to Mauritius’s image on the international scene. Cases of misappropriation of funds dented the country’s reputation and made headlines. Mauritius’s ranking on ti’s corruption index, having fallen a few places over previous years, was 56 in the world.
In 2019, the island of Mauritius held its 11th post-independence general election. The country usually receives kudos from both international and pan-African election observation missions for organising free and fair elections. However, the post-election period was unsettled, with a number of election petitions registered by the opposition political parties in the supreme court contesting both the validity of the poll and credibility of the results. There is no doubt that this was a dent on a country that has built a reputation as the strongest democracy in Africa.
This was an exceptional year on all fronts, as the whole world felt the effects of Covid-19. Mauritius an island to a large extent dependent on external exchanges, be it for tourism, importation of food and other commodities, or the export of its garments, felt the wrath of a global economy in lockdown. The ruling coalition that was elected at the end of 2019 faced a challenging year that culminated in street protests in August and September.
Mauritius, just like the rest of the world, faced increased levels of difficulty as the second year of Covid-19 unfolded. Most of its productive sectors were halted, with that of tourism particularly affected.