Nigeria Past and Present

The Speaker of the House of Assembly, the Northern Region ofNigeria, gave the following address at a joint meeting of theRoyal African Society and the Royal Empire Society on June 6,1957. Mr. M. T. Mbu, Commissioner for the Federation of Nigeriain the United Kingdom, took the chair.     

The Sudan: Past, Present and Future

Sir Angus Gillan Served in the Sudan Administration between1909-1939. He is now Director of the Empire Section of the BritishCouncil. This article is an abridgment of a lecture he gave,under the chairmanship of Mr. A.R.I. Mellor, at a combined meetingof the Royal African Society and the Royal Empire Society onthe 26th April. Sir Angus first gave reasons for the world'scomparative ignorance of the Sudan, broken only by events leadingup to the three dates: Khartoum 1885, Omdurman 1898, and Abyssinia1940.     

Australian Judicial Biography: Past,Present and Future

This article posits that biographical writing on High Court judges generates insights that may otherwise be overlooked in explorations of national history and politics. Firstly, the article addresses the relative scarcity of such biographies in Australia. It then explores themes common to the existing works and the ways in which they are evoked. The article canvasses some possibilities inherent in judicial biography, expanding briefly on the themes of national and gender identity, before surveying some of the minor controversies of the genre, including the question of who is best qualified to write it. The discussion concludes with the suggestion that the development of this genre would provide nuanced material for legal scholars, historians and political scientists alike.     

Independence or Union: Scotland's Past and Scotland's Present

Independence or Union: Scotland's Past and Scotland's Present. By T.M. Devine (London: Allen Lane, 2016), pp. xiii + 306. £20.00 (cloth).     

Economic Governance Beyond State and Market: Islamic Capital Markets in Southeast Asia

ABSTRACT

Islamic finance has become an integral part of the financial systems of the Muslim-majority countries of Southeast Asia. At the same time, Southeast Asia has witnessed the emergence of new capital market governance practices and arrangements that are both multi-scalar and multi-sited. This article suggests that rather than only looking at the scale and rescaling of capital market governance in the region, more attention needs to be paid to the shifting balances between regulatory expertise, market practice and societal expectations. Indeed, for governance practices to be considered effective, they have to straddle at times competing demands of authority and legitimacy. This dynamic is nowhere as visible as in the case of Islamic finance, which explicitly involves Shariah experts, trained in Islamic law, in its governance structures. This article explores the novel forms of governance to which this new market has given rise. It argues that Islamic finance – rather than the product of privately held beliefs – has become increasingly bound up with the state apparatus. This facilitates the embedding of Islamic financial principles and ethical concerns throughout capital markets in the region. Yet, Islamic finance has also become increasingly submerged within national development and competitiveness agendas.     

The IT Revolution in Japan: Past,Present and Future

Despite phenomenal mobile telephone sales and a reputation for technological innovation, Japan lags behind many other countries in the application of IT technology. In part, this may be attributed to a telecommunications industry which lacks competition, with a conventional corporate culture; but this is insufficient to explain all the factors behind Japan'slackluster performance. In the following article, Shinji Fukukawa, CEO of the Dentsu Institute for Human Studies, describes the history of IT in Japan and makes an international comparison of the development of IT. He argues that unless Japan manages to catch-up quickly with those IT-proficient countries, it may be too late and she will be left behind. Nevertheless, the future is not bleak, and if vital policy measures are implemented; the markets deregulated; the corporate culture changed; and societal knowledge of IT improved; Japan may still succeed in the IT revolution.     

The Political Economy of Fiji: Past,Present, and Prospects

Abstract

The present in terms of the level of economic development in Fiji can be explained by the past, and particularly the distribution of political power and resources some 140 years ago. The prominent role of the traditional chiefs, the Methodist Church, and ethnicity in the political economy of Fiji dates back to the earliest days of colonisation with ramifications for the coups of the past, the politics of the present, and the prospects for economic development. A spike in emigration of Indo-Fijians since the first coup d’état of 1987 is rapidly changing the ethnic composition of the population and with it the political economy of Fiji. The fourth constitution (in four decades) promulgated in 2013 is an attempt to break free from divisive politics of the past. If successful, then the prospects for a peaceful and prosperous Fiji are healthy.     

澳门与东南亚的关系:过去、现在与未来

在目前澳门的对外关系中,东南亚并不是最重要的。然而,从长远的和发展的眼光看,东南亚在澳门的对外关系中将发挥越来越重要的作用,澳门应该重视发展与东南亚的经济社会关系。与东南亚建立良好的密切的关系,将为今后澳门经济的继续繁荣和发展作出重要的贡献     

东亚华人资本的现状与前景

战后海外华人经济经历了缓慢增长与迅速发展的不同历史时期。作为华人经济活动主体的华商的经营方式也发生了很大变化 ,从战前的独资企业、家族企业 ,逐渐发展为合股公司、控股公司和跨国公司 ,各国华人资本相互渗透 ,组成若干华资集团。在战后东亚经济崛起的进程中 ,华人资本在推进东亚、东南亚经济一体化的过程中起着重要作用。