Moscow: Klyuch-S Publ., 2011.352 p.

Recently, in the field of social sciences, the attention of both scientists and the general public is increasingly attracted to political science - the science of the laws of the formation and functioning of political systems and their institutions. And this is not surprising, because political science studies are designed to systematize various processes and phenomena in the world of politics, contribute to a deeper understanding and forecasting of them. The main body of political science research, both in our country and abroad, is based on materials drawn from the development experience of Western countries. As a result, when trying to apply the concepts and conclusions of Western political science to the analysis of Eastern socio-state structures, it often turns out that these concepts and conclusions lose their explanatory and predictive ability, unable to identify patterns and specifics of the evolution of Eastern societies. Thus, domestic and foreign orientalists face an urgent task to develop the political science of the East as an integral part of world political science. The reviewed work is an important contribution to the solution of this problem.

This collection of scientific articles, the seventh in a row published by the Center for the Study of Contemporary Problems of Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific Region of the ISAA of Moscow State University, is practically the first attempt to study the elites of Eastern countries. The geography of the collection's articles varies widely from the countries of the Middle East, South and North-East Asia to South-East Asia and even Russia. We used government and other documents that are often introduced into scientific circulation for the first time, materials of the modern press, world political science and regional literature. The collection's articles are written by qualified specialists-employees of the leading research institutions - IV RAS and Moscow's leading universities-ISAA MSU and MGIMO (U). In some cases, the research is also based on personal observations of the authors, who had the opportunity to visit the countries under study and meet with representatives of local elites. This makes the estimates and conclusions made especially convincing.

Specific country-specific materials are preceded by a theoretical article on the problems of elitism by Professor L. V. Geveling of the ISAA of Moscow State University, which largely for the first time and in a new way covers a number of essential problems of the theory of elites. The author identifies the stages of formation of modern elites and their functions, cites the existing methods of analysis in elitism. L. V. Geveling defines the elite as a relatively large social group that forms "the politically ruling and economically dominant stratum of society" (p. 13). Based on the hypothesis of genetic proximity and synchronous development of organizations of various types and types of management that are adequate to them, the author suggests "that models of organizations of political, ideological, "club" and even military types evolve in the wake of the development of business organizations", borrow models of business management as an entity that is more flexible and viable, " which is sensitive to responds to external and internal changes", noting that "this process has universal and global significance" (p. 10). Responding to the challenges of the time, L. V. Geveling emphasizes the importance of developing the Orientalist direction in political science. "A very promising area of elitism is the country-specific analysis of elites and elite-like formations. A full-fledged classification and typology of elites and elitists emerging in the modern world is hardly possible without the use of empirical material that reflects the unique position of power groups in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. No less interesting should be a comparative analysis of Eastern and Western societies that are developing in the context of globalization and the simultaneous separation of East and West, as well as the emergence of new geopolitical and geo-economic formats" (p.28).

The theoretical development of the concept of elites immediately organizes and systematizes all the empirical material of country articles that reflect the unique position of power groups in Asian and African countries.

P. V. Shlykov in the article "Military elite in the political system of the Republic of Turkey" shows that the Turkish army and the special role that it assumes in the socio-political system of the Republic of Turkey.-

political life of the country, do not fit into any of the models developed in Western political science. "The nature of the existing relations between society and the military, their influence on the current political situation, is in a certain sense a reflection of the centuries-old experience of the social development of the Ottoman Empire..." (p.34). Describing in detail the stages of the formation of the Turkish military elite, its composition, the evolution of socio-political views, strategies and tactics of political struggle, P. V. Shlykov insists that Turkey can serve as an example of "the predominance of internal "unique" factors in the formation of the national model of the triangle of mutual influence of the army of tosudarstvo-society-historical experience, the specifics of social development, incompleteness of political- economic modernization" (p. 35).

S. I. Lunev, in his article " The Elite paradigm of Development (on the example of India)", focuses on the peculiarities of Indian civilization. He believes that when analyzing both the social and political spheres, special attention should be paid to the existence of a caste system that has been functioning in society for thousands of years (p.69). It notes the enormous respect that exists in modern India for scientists, intellectuals, education and science. At the same time, it is emphasized that since the Middle Ages, Indian intellectuals have been represented not only by the highest castes of Brahmins, but also by representatives of the middle castes. "It is the various groups of the intellectual elite that formulate India's policy based on their understanding of national interests" (p.74). The author concludes that it is "India's elite development path that has allowed the country to achieve great success in the political and especially economic spheres." And although, according to XI. Luneva, the country may face many very serious problems in the near future, and it will undoubtedly be able, as it has repeatedly happened during India's long historical path, to overcome all difficulties again quite successfully, while maintaining its elite civilizational paradigm as a whole (p.76).

D. V. Streltsov ("On the role of conservatism in the ideological tools of the Japanese political elite"), giving a retrospective analysis of the ruling circles of Japan, emphasizes their commitment to conservatism. "Conservatism as a kind of' communal egalitarianism 'began to prevail as the main ideological guideline of the entire Japanese elite as a whole" (p.85). But this is a new type of conservatism. It combines "Japanese values" and market principles in the economy, while simultaneously merging with social democracy.The ruling elite of modern China: trends in modernization and Archaization"), drawing an image of the Chinese ruling circles and their traditions from ancient times to the present day, emphasizes its ability to self-regulate, assimilate foreign elements and regenerate its own institutions and ideas (p. 93). The author sees the main merit of Confucianism in this. "The Confucian tradition, enriched by modern achievements of production and culture, turns out to be more capacious and viable than all known European models... "(p. 115). Denisov ("The political system and political elite of the DPRK: genesis, evolution, problems") in his research assigns a leading role to the party and military bureaucracy. Tracing the evolution of these elite groups in detail, he concludes that both the existing system in the DPRK and the ruling military-bureaucratic elite demonstrate a certain margin of safety. However, this elite, in his opinion, is not able to effectively solve the cardinal problems of socio-economic and political development of the country (p.137).

The main block of articles in the collection is devoted to the elites of Southeast Asian countries. Opening this section, L. F. Pakhomova's article "Ruling and Business Elites in Southeast Asia" provides a general overview of the region's elites - their formation history, structure, and evolution. The author identifies political and business elites and notes the contradictory role of elites in Southeast Asian societies. On the one hand, they can act as carriers of social progress, on the other - as a force that hinders this progress (p. 160).

Other articles in this section explore the elites of individual Southeast Asian countries. ("The Indonesian elite during the Reform Period (1998-2009)") shows the internal heterogeneity of the main elite groups in Indonesia - civil bureaucracy, military circles and Muslim groups, highlights their strengths and weaknesses, emphasizing the significant influence of the traditions of Indonesian political culture on the modern ruling circles. Despite all the differences, the Indonesian elite as a whole is united by such a value as nationalism, which is the cornerstone of Indonesian statehood under all regimes and rulers (p.176).

V. V. Sumsky ("Adam Malik and the Birth of the 'new order ' in Indonesia") gives an impressive portrait of one of the prominent representatives of the Indonesian civil and political elite - Adam Malik. The analysis of the personality and activities of this person is interesting because it reflects like a drop of water many features of the Indonesian elite-firmness and flexibility, principled and resourceful, the desire to use opposing forces to achieve their political and personal ambitions.

V. F. Urlyapov in his article "The political elite of modern Malaysia" notes the multinational composition of the elite in Malaysia, but devotes his research only to its Malay component, which forms the basis of the political segment of the elite. The author points out its close connection with aristocratic circles, the strong influence of Islam, and recently the desire of its representatives to go into business. At the same time, the prospects of merging the Malay, Chinese and Indian elites into a single ruling stratum in Malaysia in the foreseeable future remain problematic (p. 202).

In the article "Modern Elite of the Philippines" Yu. O. Levtonova emphasizes such stable stereotypes of elite groups in the modern Philippine Republic as traditions of family ties, oligarchic rule. These features characterize not only the political, but also the business, as well as the military elite that has become more active in recent decades. The author emphasizes that "the dominance of traditional stereotypes of behavior of the ruling elite of one of the most westernized societies in the East, combined with the established practice of democratic procedures and the operation of democratic institutions, creates a unique model of elite political democracy" (p.220).

E. A. Fomicheva in her article "The Genesis of modern political elites in Thailand" shows that the hereditary aristocracy continues to play an important role, and the institution of royal power remains as the core of the political system. At the same time, an increasingly important role is occupied by representatives of modern large metropolitan and provincial businesses, closely connected with the military and civilian bureaucracy. In the twenty-first century, the old aristocratic, military, and bureaucratic elites and the new financial, industrial, and provincial elites are engaged in a fierce struggle for leading positions in the political sphere (p.237).

Two articles are devoted to the elites of Vietnam: O. V. Novakova and V. N. Sokolov ("The Vietnamese' old ' and ' new ' elites in the colonial period: the Essence of the conflict (the first half of the XX century)") tell about the specifics of the formation of the Vietnamese elite in the colonial period, and G. F. Murasheva ("The Ruling Elite of Vietnam in the beginning epochs of renewal (up to мой my)") continues the analysis of this elite in our days. The first article highlights such a feature as the replacement of the traditional Confucian elite with a pro-French oriented one, which, in turn, was replaced by a pro-communist one. At the same time, the authors emphasize the absence of a religious element and religious motivation in elite circles (p.272). The second article emphasizes the connection between the national and socialist components in the ideology of the modern Vietnamese elite, its cohesion and continuity (p. 255).

N. N. Bektemirova, in her article "The institutionalization of the' old ' political elite and its Monopoly on Power in Cambodia at the Turn of the Century, "points to consensus as the main basis for the existence of the old aristocratic and new revolutionary segments of the modern ruling stratum in Cambodia. At the same time, the author emphasizes that there are no significant changes in the processes of elite formation in the country. As before, the system of patronage relations remains the main channel of recruitment to the ruling class (p. 285).

In the article "The ruling military elite in Myanmar", A. A. Simonia notes that the military, having pushed aside the feudal aristocracy and the bourgeois-landowner bloc from governing the country in 1962, secured a privileged position that allows them not only to have power, but also to control the economy. The Myanmar elite is highly homogeneous. It consists of educated officers of the Buddhist faith, mostly ethnic Burmese, who come from small towns or rural areas (p. 296). If necessary, this elite removes its military uniform and takes on a civilian appearance, which does not change its essence.

The collection ends with the heading "Pages of History", which contains an article by Academician Yu.S. Pivovarov"Elites in Russian History". The publication of this article is logically justified, since the Russian elite is typologically related to non-Western elites, and its comparison with the elites of Eastern societies can be of considerable scientific interest.

Thus, the analytical articles published in the collection by Russian authors make it possible to draw up a comprehensive picture of the processes of formation and evolution of elites in different regions.-

onov mira. We can agree with the editorial board that the study of elites in the Eastern countries, their role and significance is very important, since they play a crucial role in the history of each country; that all articles in this collection are distinguished by a thorough analysis of the process of forming ruling circles, methods of their coming to power and building relationships with society, solving issues of succession.

Here are some critical considerations. The heterogeneity of country articles is striking. Some describe regional elites, others - country elites, and still others - parts of country elites and even their individual representatives.

The internal structure of the articles also differs significantly and does not always correspond to the general political scheme proposed in the theoretical work that opens the collection. Moreover, many articles contain theoretical paragraphs that repeat the concepts and calculations already contained in the first article.

The collection would greatly benefit if it ended with a special Conclusion containing an initial understanding and summing up preliminary results of the vast and invaluable factual and analytical material that the works of Russian Orientalists published here contain.

In general, the reviewed collection certainly fills a serious gap in the study of the problem of national elites in Russian Oriental studies and in Russian elitism in general. The book can be considered as one of the cornerstones in the foundation of the future political science of the East.

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