Ethnicity And Political Geography: 2 Flashcards
The U.S. helped set up the current Shiite government after it toppled the oppressive Saddam Hussein and his Sunni majority government. Kurds who live in the north of this county were also oppressed under the former dictator.
Iraq
Southwest Asia
Is tiny country was declared to be the 19th province if Iraq. An allocational dispute over the Rumaylah oil fields helped perpetuate the first Persian Gulf War.
Kuwait
Southwest Asia
China claims this island as a part of it’s territory, but from 1949-1971 it was considered to be “real China.”
Taiwan
East Asia
This island in the Mediterranean Sea has never peacefully integrated its Greek and Turkish nationalities. A buffer zone was asset up by the UN to keep the two sides apart. The north is recognized as an independent state by Turkey.
Cyprus
Southwest Asia
This former Italian colony was made part of neighboring Ethiopia after WWII, but when Ethiopia dissolved it’s legislature an banned their major local language, the people began a 30 yr. fight for independence. The border between the two countries remains closed and tensions are still high.
Eritrea
Sub-Saharan Africa
This country considers Western Sahara to be part of its territory, even though most countries consider Western Sahara to be sovereign.
Morocco
North Africa
This country recently split into two countries, in large part due to the conflict between a Muslim North and a Christian South. There had also been an on-going conflict in its Western Region of Darfur that the U.S. has called genocide.
Sudan
Sub-Saharan Africa
This country experienced genocide in the 1900s when the conflict between the Hutus and the Tutsis reached its climax, resulting in the deaths of 1 million people in about 100 days.
Rwanda
Sub-Saharan Africa
This country was once the financial center of the Middle East, but it has been damaged by fighting along religious factions in the 1970s. The religious diversity of this small country includes Maronite Christians, Greek Orthodox Christians, Shiite and Sunni Muslims as well as Druze which is a combination of Islam and Christianity.
Lebanon
Southwest Asia
This country has topped the failed states index for five straight years due to continued lawlessness and piracy. Despite the seeming the collapse of the government, portions if the economy are thriving. Goat and cattle trade thrives and could actually be the largest movement of livestock in the world.
Somalia
Sub-Saharan Africa
At the end of British rule, South Asia was partitioned mostly due to conflict between Hindus and Muslims. This country was originally separated into and East and West portion 1000 miles away. The eastern portion of this country is now Bangladesh. In 2012 Osama bin Laden was killed in this country.
Pakistan
South Asia
Conflict in this country between to he Sinhalese and the Tamils goes back thousands of years. It was suppressed during European rule, but since independence the Tamils feel they suffer from discrimination from the Sinhalese-dominated government.
Sri Lanka
South Asia
This country was the first to colonize South Africa. Settlers from this country began calling themselves Afrikaners and viewed themselves as rightful inhabitants of South Africa. The Afrikaners would later fight against the British in the Boer Wars, in which the British established concentration camps.
The Netherlands
Western Europe
The Rohingya Muslim minority of this country is viewed as illegal immigrants and has been denied citizenship. The Buddhists in this country have incited violence against the Muslims after an alleged rape last summer set off decades of animosity between the two groups.
Myanmar
Southeast Asia
This vast country with immense economic resources has been at the centre of what could be termed Africa’s world war. This has left it in the grip of humanitarian crisis. The war had claimed an approximate 3 million lives either through direct fighting or due to illness and malnutrition.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Sub-Saharan Africa
