Asia, the Middle East, and Oceania

Question 1

Asia - Intro

Answer 1

Differnet players that don’t trust eachother and instead rely on extra-regional security partners

Hold 60% of world population

Geopolitical hotspot = Taiwan

Rapidly aging population
45 states
Regional powers: China, India, Japan, Indonesia
Post-CW, Russia, China, and India are the dominant powers of 3 distincitive realms/regions (Asia-Pacific Rim dominated by the USA)
Eurasian transport corridors

Question 2

Regional Organizations in Asia

Answer 2

APEC, ASEAN+3, CSTO, OIC, GCC, SCO, SAARC, ANZUS

Not that many inter-regional agreements (prefer w/ outside powers)

Question 3

Central Asia

Answer 3

youngest region in the world
potential battleground btw the West and Russia

rising ethnic tensions/isalmic radicalism/border disputes

Kazakhstan - most stable, wealthiest, largest in the region (issue of succession with N. Nazarbayev)
Uzbekistan - Most populous and repressive regime (issue of succession with (I. Karimov)
Russia’s sphere of influence (most prominent in KAZ KYR TAJ)

Question 4

Northern Asia

Answer 4

Dominated by Heartland Russia (geogrpahically vulnerable)

asia part of Russia … Russia’s little shatterbelt?

Mackinder, Russian traditional fear of landbound enemies
Historic core: Kievan Russia, Novgorod
Political capitals: Moscow till 1712 -> St. Petersburg -> Moscow
Ecumene: St. Petersburg, Smolensk, Kursk, Ukr, Rostov, Samara, Ufa, Perm
ENT: N Caucusas, Volga, Ural Basia, Central Siberia
Empty Area: Siberia
Border is secure in the East but not the West
Population distributed most in the West (fear of NATO proximity)

Question 5

Mongolia

Answer 5

North Asia state sandwhiched btw to great powers (Russia and China)

Huge geopolitical pressure from China (very economically connected)

Pres. Battulga’s foreign polict wants to be more Western (US/FR) … US as a 3rd neighbot

Question 6

Western Asia / The Middle East

Answer 6

Includes: North Africa, Horn of Africa, Central Asia, Caucasus, part of the Indian Subcontitnent

shatterbelt: penetration of USSR to Maritime realm

Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC)
Arabic Culture (22 Arab countires)
Islam
70% of world’s oil and 40% of nat gas
Moscow focused on Syria, Yemen, Egypt
Importance of personal relationships in security
Brzezinksi - “The New Global Balkans” ( it is a decisive area and the US needs to control it)

Question 7

The Levant

Answer 7

Lebanon, Israel, Syria, West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudia Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Oman

the eastern mediterranean region of West Asia – core middle east

Question 8

South Asia

Answer 8

Dominated by India (most populous country in the world and great geopolitical position)
From the Himalayas to the Indian Ocean Islands

artifical construct of the 1980s

1/5 of the world population
“geopolitical realm of highest geostrategic importance”
Instability in Afghanistan (NATO failed to help the US build a state there + India trying to project power)
Bay of Bengal: Indian Ocean, large populatopn
Economic success stories of the region: India, Indonesia, Malaysia
Singapore - 5 mil people boxing above their weight in security (controlling and survielling the martime realm)
Historic core: Rajasthan, Behli, Kolkata
Ecumene: lacks unified pop or econ core area (whole of India?)
Empty Areas: Deserts and the Himilayas
SAARC (South Asia, Association for Regional Cooperation) 1983 econ/tech/cultural dev + self reliance

Question 9

South East Asia

Answer 9

lacks internal cohesion

geopoltical battlegroud for US vs. China

Question 10

East Asia

Answer 10

Key players: China, Japan, and Korea

Capital: Beijing
Ecumene: coastal area, Ch border with Vietnam, Beijing, N China Plain, S Manchuria, HongKong, Macao
ENT: interior provinces, eastern Yunnan, Sichuan basin, eastern sichuan province, SW Inner Mongolia (heavily populated ENT)

Question 13

Asian-Pacific Rim

Answer 13

Japan, Koreas, China, HonKong, Taiwan, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, Loas (idk tbh)

The area of political stability: Aus, NZ, SK, Taiwan, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia
The area of political instability: Indonesia, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Thailand (China often tries to manipulate states to help unseat the Aus dominance)
Historic core: none and no single political capital
Ecumene: Tokyo, Osaka, Pusan, Kone, Seoul, Singapore, Taiwan
ENT: only in Aus (Sumatra, Mindanai)
Empty Area: Australia’s interior