Human Geo 8.1 Questions Flashcards
What are 4 examples of places that test the definition of sovereingty?
- Korea: One State or Two?
- China & Taiwan: One State or Two?
- Sahrawi Republic/Western Sahara: Who is Sovereign?
- Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands: Conflicting Claims
What is the Korean peninsula and how was it split?
Korean peninsula is divided between South and North Korea. After the US and former Soviets defeated Japan in WWII, they divided Korea (a colony of Japan for 35 years) into 2 zones. The Soviet Union installed a pro-Communist government in the north. There was a pro-US government in South.
What event sparked a civil war in Korea? What are the standpoints of both governments?
North Korea invaded the South in 1950, sparking a three-year war that ended in a cease-fire. Both governments want to reunite the country into one state, but think they are the one who should exercise entire sovereignty. Public support in South Korea for reunification is declining as younger generations have no memories of a unified country and lack direct family connections to Koreans in the North.
Describe North Korea and how it has aggravated reconciliation:
North Korea is one of the world’s poorest and most isolated countries, and since 1948 it has been governed as a dictatorship by father, son & grandson (Kim Jong). Further aggravating reconciliation, North Korea has built and tested nuclear weapons and long-range missiles, even though the country lacks the ability to provide its citizens with food, electricity, and other basic needs
What is the conflict around the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (or Western Sahara)?
Most African countries consider it to be sovereign, but Morocco claims the territory and has built a 1,700 mile wall around it to keep out rebels. They control most of the populated area, but the Polisario Front operates in the sparsely inhabited deserts (especially the 1/5 of the territory lying east of Morocco’s wall).
Describe the change in control over the Western Sahara:
Spain controlled the territory between Morocco and Mauritania until withdrawing in 1976. An independent Sahrawi Republic was declared by the Polisario Front and recognized by most African countries, but Morocco and Mauritania annexed the northern and southern portions, respectively. Three years later Mauritania withdrew, and Morocco claimed the entire territory. No other state recognizes Morocco’s claim to the territory.
Explain about China & Taiwan: One State or Two?
Most other countries consider China and Taiwan as separate and sovereign states. According to China’s government, Taiwan is not sovereign but a part of China. The government of Taiwan agrees.
What has the current status of Taiwan arisen from?
A civil war in China in the late 1940s between the Nationalists and the Communists. After losing, Nationalist leaders fled to Taiwan, 125 miles off the Chinese coast, and proclaimed that they were still the rulers of the entire country of China. Until in the future when they could defeat the Communists and recapture all of China, they said they could at least continue to govern one island of the country.
What was the US position in the Taiwan disagreement?
The US had supported the Nationalists during the civil war, so many Americans opposed acknowledging that China was firmly under the control of the Communists, and the US still regarded Nationalists as the official government of China until the 1970s, when US policy finally changed, and the UN voted to transfer China’s seat from the Nationalists to the Communists.
What are the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands?
China, Taiwan, and Japan all claim sovereignty over several small uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. The largest of five islands is only 1.7 square miles. The collection also includes three rock outcroppings, the smallest of which is only 8,600 square feet.
How has control over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands changed over time?
Japan has controlled the islands since 1895 (except when the US ruled them between 1945 and 1972 after defeating Japan in World War II). China & Taiwan claim that the islands historically belonged to China until the Japanese government illegally seized them in 1895. Japan’s thinks that China didn’t state that it had sovereignty over the uninhabited islands back in 1895, when Japan claimed them. To bolster their claims, China & Japan have both built air defense zones in the East China Sea w/ conflicting boundaries.
