7.7 Contested places

Question 1

What are the two types of resources that superpowers are fuelled by?

Answer 1

Human: innovation, skill, entrepreneurship, military and large labour force
Physical: fossil fuels, ores and minerals

Question 2

What are the sources of human tension?

Answer 2

Often economic tensions over intellectual property rights (patents)

Question 3

What is a patent?

Answer 3

They ensure TNCs, individuals and governments can protect new inventions, trademarks and artistic works from use by others

Question 4

What is the importance of IP?

Answer 4

-without it, innovations and ideas can be stolen and used by others, which would be a huge disincentive to innovate and invent
-The costs of developing new medicines or technology could not be recouped through selling if others could simply copy the idea

Question 5

What are the criticisms of IP?

Answer 5

-Requires users of a product to pay royalties to the inventor, which is a cost to developing countries
-IP holders don’t have the duty to make a new invention available; in theory they could prevent something important from being made
-The system can create a monopoly of power, where a patent holder can charge what they like for a new product, denying it to some on the basis of price
-counterfeiting and piracy

Question 6

What % of counterfeit products originate from China?

Answer 6

70%

Question 7

What is an example of counterfeited products?

Answer 7

Fake Apple products are common: 22 fake Apple Stores were found in China in 2011

Question 8

How has a disregard for international IP treaties and counterfeiting caused tension, especially between the US and China?

Answer 8

-TNCs may be reluctant to invest in China, knowing that their products are likely to be reduced by counterfeiting
-Lack of action by the Chinese authorities might suggest the gov is less likely to co-operate with international law
-future trade agreement are limited if one side believes the other side will not ‘play by the rules’

Question 9

How much does counterfeiting cost the G20 every year?

Answer 9

US$85 billion

Question 10

What has been signed to prevent counterfeiting and who signed it?

Answer 10

In 2011, 32 countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, including the US and EU, but the biggest counterfeiter, China, did not sign to it

Question 11

Which companies have filed lawsuits against Chinese banks?

Answer 11

Tiffany and Gucci have filed lawsuits against prominent Chinese banks, that are regarded as ‘safe havens’ for counterfeiters

Question 12

What is an exclusive economic zone?

Answer 12

The area of ocean extending 200 nautical miles beyond the coastline (or to the edge of the continental shelf), over which a nation controls the sea and sub sea resources. Borders are decided by the UN if there is dispute.

Question 13

What tensions are being caused over territory in the Arctic?

Answer 13

There are 8 different countries making claims over the Arctic and tensions are rising given a quarter of the world’s undiscovered oil and natural gas may be located in the Arctic Ocean.
Most of these claims are done through the UN Convention on the law of the sea (UNCLOS) and country’s exclusive economic zones. Some of the areas they claim overlap, causing tension

Question 14

How have different countries been increasing action in the Arctic?

Answer 14

-Canada carrying out military exercises
-Norway has expanded its navy
-Russia carries out Arctic bomber patrols
-Denmark is creating an Arctic military command and response force

Question 15

How is the opening of new trade routes in the Arctic causing tension?

Answer 15

-The melting summer sea ice now allows shipping to travel over the ‘top of the world’ via the Northeast and Northwest Passages.
The reduced distance and time means it reduces governments and TNC’s costs
In 2014, 71 cargo ships sailed these passages, compared to 46 in 2012

Question 16

Where has disputes over resources turned violent

Answer 16

Iraq’s oil wealth is hotly disputed between Sunni, Shia and Kurdish regions

Question 17

How much of the Arctic has Russia claimed?

Answer 17

Russia has claimed nearly half of the Arctic in what has been described as a land grab after planting a flag beneath the North Pole. The USA and Norway do not recognise Russia’s claims as legitimate

Question 18

Why is there tensions over territory in the South China Sea?

Answer 18

China has no intention of abandoning claims over Tibet or Taiwan and using their EEZ, they claim the Spratly Islands. They are trying to control up to the first island chain. However, these islands are also claimed by the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam.
China has responded by creating artificial islands and military bases here, including a 3km runway, becoming known as the great wall of sand.
This also causes tensions with Taiwan’s allies like Japan and the US. The US currently have the greatest naval presence

Question 19

Why are there tensions over territory at Russian’s western border?

Answer 19

-After collapse of the Soviet Union, many countries which Russia felt like belonged to them, joined the EU and NATO (8 countries joined the EU in 2004) and Romania and Bulgaria then joined later.

Russia then annexed Crimea in 2014, because they wanted access to a deep sea port all year round and claimed many Russian people lived there

On the 24th February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine after claiming many were Russian, want for flat land and resources and they felt like NATO was getting too close. After 2 years of war, 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died, but Russia has not been as successful as expected, as Ukraine initially put up high levels of resistance, and Russia has had logistical problems and has poorly motivated troops

Question 20

Discuss tensions over territory in the Galwan Valley

Answer 20

China and India have a 3440km long border that’s line can often shift. This caused a clash in 2020 between soldiers, leaving 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers dead. Tensions continue to build as China didn’t attend the 2023 G20 summit in India