Middle East and North Africa Flashcards
alternative to middle east (MENA)
southwest asia
international monetary fund (IMF)
set up in WWII (1944)
charged with fostering global economic growth, promoting stability; provides policy for developing countries
voting is not even, requires 85% majority
who holds the most voting power in the IMF/has effective veto power? about how much is their veto power?
US, ~16.5%
________ in MENA was persistently high for a long period of time
unemployment
persian empire
modern day Iran
expansion diffusion
not evenly, starts somewhere and stays there while spreading
propagation waves originate in a strong and durable source
relocation diffusion
hops around
movement from a source to distant, unconnected region
many diseases spread this way
Sunnis
majority of islam, 85%
belief in Muhammad
Shi’ites/Shia
minority of islam
proclaimed the Ali, muhammad’s cousin, was the successor
what schism is at the root of many conflicts in MENA realm?
Shia-Sunni schism
the ottoman empire is responsible for….
strong muslim influence in the Balkans
Sharia Law
moral code and religious law of Islam
Maghreb
historical location of the Berber people, area under the influence of the Atlas Mountains:
Algeria
libya
mauritania
morocco
tunisia
w. sahara
maghreb means
west, referring to the extent of the Arab conquest
who was spain conquered by in the 700’s?
the Maghreb people
orographic lifting
produces rainfall along the western edge of the atlas mountains
windward vs. leeward side of mountain
windward: precipitation, warm/moist air
leeward: dry, hotter air, less water
where is timbuktu?
northern mali along the Niger river
Mali is ______, with ____ arable land (available to grow crops)
landlocked; ~4%
median age of Mali and urbanization percentage
16; 46%
who colonized large parts of west, central and northwest africa?
the french
tuaregs
desert people, subgroup of berbers (people in maghreb)
nomadic and pastoral
Mali War (2012-present)
Tuareg/Azawad (interchangeable) people seized control of northern mali
NMLA aided by Islamists until introduction of Sharia Law
NMLA
national movement for the liberation of Azawad/tuareg people
who controls most of the south of Mali, including the capital?
malian government/army
libya’s population is quite ____ relative to its landmass - only about ________. where do most people in libya live?
small; 6 million; cities
how are states considered “failed”
can’t effectively govern state
egypt is ________ as it occupies both africa and asia
transcontinental
largest country in the MENA region
egypt
middle power (and example)
strong regional influence (ex. egypt)
physiological density
population divided by arable land
what significant christian minority is in Egypt
Copts/coptic christians
longest river in the world
nile river
what are the two branches of the nile and where do they meet?
white and blue; Khartoum (capital of Sudan)
what percent of people in egypt live 20 km from the nile
95%
Aswan Dam
regulates water flow and provides electricity from the Nile
t/f: oil reserves in the middle east are spread out evenly
False, not distributed evenly
worlds biggest peninsula and who is it home to?
arabian; Arab
Arab is defined by what three things?
culture
language
genealogy
The Levant and the countries
east = meaning eastern edge of mediterranean
littoral zone between eastern med. between turkey and egypt
israel, palestine, lebanon, syria and jordan
damascus, one of the oldest cities in the world, the capital of what country?
Syria
jewish state created in 1948 by UN mandate
israel
where in israel is the current palestinian authority?
west bank and gaza
capital of turkey is _______ not __________
Ankara; Istanbul
strait of hormuz
choke point between persian gulf and open sea/UAE and Iran
largest state ruled by Shia Islam
Iran
The Arab Spring and where is started
phenomenon of widespread public protest in the Arab world in response to longstanding secularist and authoritarian regimes
tunisia
political party of President Morsi and its primary goals
Muslim Brotherhood; promoting islamic values, social justice, and political reform
president of syria
Bashar al-Assad
Ba’athism
Arab nationalist ideology concerned with developing a socialist, pan-Arab state
secular, typically authoritarian but anti-monarchy
two main factions of Palestinian Liberation Organization
Hamas and Fatah (dominant party, controls west bank)
west bank refers to
territory west of the Jordan river to Jerusalem
Hamas
offshoot of Muslim Brotherhood
still classified as terrorist organization by US and others
the Israel Defense Force (IDF) typically responds with ___________
air strikes
the Islamic state arose during the ____ _________ and ________ ________ following the Iraq War and Syrian Civil War
power vacuum; widespread discontent
economic cartel
agreement between competing firms/countries
