Soviet economic and technical cooperation with developing countries: The Turkish case.
This is a study of Soviet relations with developing countries up to the mid-1980s. The focus of the research is on the Soviet development assistance programme, or 'economic and technical cooperation' as it is called in the Soviet Union. Cooperation has been used to build over 2,000 industrial and agricultural enterprises in over eighty countries. In most developing countries, economic and technical cooperation is the major form which the Soviet presence takes. The Soviet Union's main way of combating what it sees as the negative effects of trade, private investment and aid from the West is economic and technical cooperation. With the central belief that true political independence and the ability to overcome backwardness does not come while economic dependence still exists, the Soviet Union has sought to build up the economies of developing countries through economic and technical cooperation. The stated goals of this programme have been: to create and develop the economic, scientific and technical potential of the emerging nations, to expand equal and mutually beneficial relations on a stable and long-term basis, and to help the young countries to overcome backwardness and develop without any form of dependence, exploitation or interference in their internal affairs regardless of their social and state system. Soviet cooperation, it is claimed, offers a positive alternative to Western assistance because, unlike the West, the Soviet Union's goal is to increase the independence of developing countries. The intention of this study is to 'go inside' Soviet development cooperation and, with particular reference to one case, that of Turkey, to analyse and evaluate its actual performance. What are the strengths and weaknesses of Soviet assistance and why do developing countries choose cooperation with the Soviet Union instead of involvement with the West. Does Soviet development cooperation at the factory level match the claims that are made. What is the quality of Soviet economic and technical cooperation as it is judged within enterprises in which it is used. Is development cooperation extended without demanding in return economic, political or military concessions. Does the Soviet Union meet the needs of individual developing countries in terms of their own specified development goals. Or, as an external supplier of technological and economic resources, does it impose its own goals. Soviet cooperation is also compared to Western involvement. The issues addressed in this study are discussed in depth in the Soviet literature both at the theoretical level and at the policy level. The claims made in this literature are central to this research. A major aim is to test empirically explicit Soviet claims against actual practice. In addition to measuring Soviet behaviour against the standards set-out in the Soviet development literature, actual practice is also measured against: 1.) the demands of the South as expressed in the UN Code of Conduct on the Transfer of Technology, 2.) the development objectives of the case study country, and 3.) 'sound' practice as discussed in the Western technology and development literature.
Soviet Technical Assistance and Nigeria's Steel Complex
The great strength, durability, and versatility of steel has undoubtedly caused this engineering material to become, almost literally, an essential foundation of present-day civilisation.1 Indeed, it is sometimes used as one of the indices of measuring the economic advancement of nations because of its widespread direct and indirect application. The commercial importance and strategic significance of steel has been recognised in Nigeria for many years, and this has prompted successive Governments to initiate various plans designed to create a metallurgical industry. As the country continues to expand its manufacturing output, as well as to produce more oil and to refine more petroleum, so the demand for the precious metal will go on increasing tremendously.2 The creation of an iron-and-steel complex by means of a combined investment of over 5,000 million is clearly Nigeria's biggest industrial undertaking and emphasises its resolve to attain greater self-reliance.3
Palaeocarpinus (Extinct Betulaceae) from Northwestern China: New Evidence for Paleocene Floristic Continuity between Asia, North America, and Europe
Spiny-bracted fruits of Palaeocarpinus Crane, a genus of Betulaceae previously known only from Europe and North America, have been discovered in the Paleocene of Altai, northwestern China. The fruits are found in association with abundant Corylus-like foliage and staminate catkins containing Corylus-like pollen. Because of problems distinguishing leaves of Corylus from those of extinct betulaceous genera, we place these leaves in the genus Corylites Gardner ex Seward & Holttum. The fruits, staminate catkins, pollen, and leaves from Altai were probably all produced by a single species. Palaeocarpinus orientalis is nearly identical in its morphology to Palaeocarpinus joffrensis from the Paleocene of North America except in the more rounded primary bracts of the associated staminate catkins. The species is less similar to Palaeocarpinus laciniata from the Paleocene of southern England.