イスラーム銀行の発展と銀行をめぐる問題―既存の体制との矛盾と高利回りへの志向―

本稿では初めに、イスラーム銀行に関する内外の研究状況について俯瞰し、その後でイスラーム銀行が設立される基にある「利子(リバー)の禁止」について述べ、そして歴史上のイスラーム金融について述べた。続いて、1970年代以降のイスラーム銀行の発展について整理した。そこでは、ダール・アル・マール・アル・イスラーミー・グループやアル・バラカ・グループなどのイスラーム銀行グループにも言及しながらイスラーム銀行の発展について述べ、また、中東や南アジア、東南アジアの主要国における状況やアフリカやヨーロッパなどへの拡大についてもまとめた。後半では、イスラーム銀行・イスラーム金融がどのような問題を抱えているかという点について、サウジアラビアを例として既存の金融体制との矛盾の問題を検討し、続いて、実際の金融活動ではムラーバハ金融やその類似手法が多く用いられていることやマレーシアでは非イスラーム教徒の中国系住民がイスラーム銀行の顧客の過半数を占めていることを示しながら、イスラーム金融でも実際には「高利回り」への志向が強まっているなど、イスラーム金融抱えている根本的な問題についても検討した。

サウジアラビアにおけるザカートの徴収－イスラームの税制と国家財政－

本稿ではサウジアラビアにおけるザカート(ザカー)の徴収について検討した。イスラーム諸国におけるザカートは、一般的には、イスラーム教徒が任意で提供する「お布施」的なものとして理解されることが多い。しかし、ザカートは初期イスラーム時代には、イスラームの教団国家の歳入の大きな柱であり、事実上、公租の役割を果たしていた。サウジアラビアでは18世紀半ばにサウード朝が興ったが、サウード朝は初期イスラーム時代を模範とするワッハーブ派と協力して国家を建設したため、サウード朝においてはザカートが重要な国家の歳入源となった。20世紀には石油開発が進み、石油収入が国家歳入の大部分を占めるようになったが、ザカートの徴収は現在でも続けられている。続いて、イスラーム法で定められているザカートの賦課対象と賦課率について述べ、のサウジアラビアの事例を示しながら賦課対象と賦課率について検討した。さらに、企業や個人がザカートを支払う場合の賦課対象や賦課率について述べ、サウジ企業に課せられるザカートと外資に課せられる所得税の相違について検討した。

Securing Medical Personnel: Case Studies of Two Source Countries and Two Destination Countries

A shortage of medical personnel has become a critical problem for developing countries attempting to expand the provision of medical services for the poor. In order to highlight the driving forces determining the international allocation of medical personnel, the cases of four countries, namely the Philippines and South Africa as source countries and Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom as destination countries, are examined. The paper concludes that changes in demand generated in major destination countries determine the international allocation of medical personnel at least in the short run. Major destination countries often alter their policies on how many medical staff they can accept, and from where, while source countries are required to make appropriate responses to the changes in demand.

Constitutions around the world : A View from Latin America

This paper gives a global summary of the number of constitutions and the number of　articles in each constitution for many representative countries around the world. Several　works have already been written comparing different legal systems and different　constitutional traditions around the world; the purpose of this paper is just to compare the　numbers of constitutions and articles in the diverse regions of the world, namely: North　America, Latin America, Europe, Oceania, Middle East, Asia and Africa. Around the world, on average, Latin America has had the most convoluted constitutional history. The Dominican Republic has had a total of 32 constitutions, the largest number of constitutions of any country, since its independence in 1844. Three other countries have also had 20 or more constitutions throughout their history, all of them in Latin America: Venezuela (26), Haiti (24) and Ecuador (20). On the other hand, there are economies and societies that do not even have codified constitutions, like the United Kingdom in Europe, Hong Kong in Asia and New Zealand in Oceania. The United States has had only one constitution, even if it has been amended several times. There are also the special cases of Israel and Saudi Arabia, both in the Middle East, that do not have official written constitutions for historical and religious reasons. Comparative constitutional numbers and history help explain several things about the stability of political systems, but not necessarily about their quality.

アブドッラー国王統治下のサウジ権力構造の変化 -- 2015年1月のサルマーン国王即位後の動きを含めて

The Basic Law of Governance in Saudi Arabia stipulates that the king of Saudi Arabia has absolute power in the government of Saudi Arabia. However, after King Abdullah's accession to the throne in 2005, his political powers were limited because of the presence of the so-called Sudeiri Seven, the powerful royal group that consists of the seven sons of King Abdel-Aziz's purported favorite wife, Sheikha Hussa bin Ahmad Sudeiri. The death of the crown prince Sultan in 2011 followed by the death of the next crown prince Naif in 2012, both members of the Sudeiri Seven, weakened the power of the Sudeiri Seven. As a result, King Abdullah's power had increased greatly compared to that of the Sudeiri Seven. Also, the sons of King Abdullah, who occupied prominent governmental posts, were acquiring strong influence in the regime. The death of King Abdullah in January 2015 and Salman's accession to the throne caused changes to the ruling regime in Saudi Arabia. King Salman appointed Prince Muqrin as crown prince and deputy premier, and Prince Muhammad b. Naif as deputy crown prince. King Salman also appointed his son Muhammad b. Salman as defence minister and head of the royal court. Finally, King Salman issued a royal order on January 29 to reshuffle his cabinet and dismiss the governors of the Riyadh and Makka.

中国と湾岸を結ぶ南アジア -- パキスタン・アフガニスタンの動向と関連させて

Pakistan is geographically situated between China and the Gulf. In order to balance its strategic position against the major security threat of India, Pakistan formed a special and stable strategic alliance with China against common threats since the period of the cold war even though the two countries have neither a political ideology nor political system in common. On the other hand Pakistan established another special relation with Saudi Arabia on the basis of Islamic identity. With its expanding economic capacity, China proposed a project by the name of "new silk road economic corridor" with the intention of expanding and multiplying trade routes with the Middle East and Europe. Within this framework Pakistan is expected to expand the role of an alternative land route that connects the Gulf and China for use if unfavorable emergencies occur in the Malacca route. However, the continuous political uncertainty in Afghanistan after the pullout of US-NATO fighting forces at the end of 2014 and sporadic outbreaks of terrorist acts by Pakistan Taliban in Pakistan have increased China's anxiety regarding Uyghur issues at home. Avoiding military options for the moment, China is trying to find ways to play an active role in the security issues of Afghanistan with help from Pakistan if available. On the other hand, it is noteworthy that the Pakistani government formed in the general election of 2008 completed its full term and transferred authority to the newly elected government in 2013, something never observed before in Pakistan's history. Coincidently, in Afghanistan the presidential election was carried out peacefully in 2014 in spite of the Taliban threat. Although it is too early to make any definite conclusion, constitutional processes, in spite of their defects, reflected to some extent wishes for normal life of the people of Pakistan and Afghanistan who were disgusted with weak governance and the prevalence of terrorism.