Spheres of Influence Flashcards
What is a sphere of influence?
a physical region over which a country considers it has economic, military, cultural or political rights
Over what area can spheres of influence extend?
beyond the borders of the country and represent a region where the country believes it has a right to influence
What is a modern day example of spheres of influence in practice?
Russia considers many Russian speaking countries as its sphere of influence
Where do nations that were once a part of the USSR now look for trade deals?
EU
NATO
Why does Russia not like its bordering nations joining NATO?
they believe the region should stay under Russian influence
What territories are currently held by Russian soldiers?
Crimea (held before Russia Ukraine conflict)
Donbas
Transnistria
What did Russia do in response to Ukraine moving to try join EU/NATO?
Annexed Ukraine region of Crimea
In the Crimean referendum how many voted to stay in Russia?
95.5% although vote has been confirmed to be falsified
What was the result on Russia after the annexation?
G8 voted out Russia creating G7
Why was the annexation so uncontested?
Ukrainian president was ousted and replaced with a pro Russian president who asked for Russia assistance with violent protests
Why haven’t Finland joined NATO?
Worried about how Russia would react however they have now applied
What would Russia control if they captured Caucasus region?
Gives Russia control of alternative gas pipe route in Europe(so could starve Europe of gas)
What does the Crimean peninsula give Russia access to?
Black sea and Mediterranean for its navy
What is the negative environmental impact of explosions?
leave toxic substances that can cause cancer
What were the 2 sides of the Vietnam war?
North Vietnam, soviet union and China
South Vietnam, united states, New Zealand and south Korea
What happened in Vietnam between 1965 and 1968? (Bombing)
North Vietnam bombed under operation rolling thunder
What was the aim of operation rolling thunder?
force enemy negotiations
What was the result of operation rolling thunder on the environment?
Bombs destroyed over 2 million acres of land
Why was a massive herbicidal programme carried out in Vietnam?
to break the forest cover sheltering Viet Cong guerrillas and deprive Vietnamese peasants of food
How much destruction occurred due to herbicide spraying? (Vietnam)
14% of Vietnams forests, diminished agricultural yield and made seed unfit for replanting
What would happen if herbicide didn’t damage agricultural yield?(Vietnam war)
lost by military on ground that set fire to haystacks and soaked land with aviation fuel and burned it
In total how much land was destroyed in the Vietnam war?
15,000 square kilometres
Why were livestock shot in the Vietnam war?
deprive peasants of of their entire food supply
In total how many livestock were killed during the VI
Vietnam war?
13,000
How many millions of litres of chemical spray was used in the Vietnam war?
72
What were the general impacts of spraying chemicals in Vietnam?
death of many animals
Health effects with humans
What was the most damaging chemical used in the Vietnam war between 1962 and 1971?
Agent orange
What was the main part of agent orange?
Dioxin which remained present in soil during and after the war
What are the 2 main problems with Dioxins?
carcinogenic (cause cancer)
Teratogenic (birth defects)
What health problems arise form Dioxins?
Spontaneous abortions
Chloracne
Skin and lung cancers
Lower intelligence and emotional problems in children
What did children born to fathers exposed to agent orange experience?
Congenital abnormalities (body structure or function)
How many children were born with dioxin-related abnormalities?
500,000
What happened to Kuwait in 1991?
devastating damage to oil industry
Iraqi forces destroyed more than 700 oil wells spilling 60 million barrels
How many cubic metres of soil were contaminated after the attacks on the Kuwait oil wells?
2 million as late as 1998
How was Kuwait’s water supply affected by the oil spills?
Major ground water aquifer 2/5 of Kuwait’s entire freshwater reserve remains contaminated to this day
How many millions of barrels of oil were released into the Gulf?
10
How much of the coastline was affected by the oil in the Gulf?
1500km
How much did the oil clean up in the gulf cost?
$700 million
Why were temperatures reduced in the gulf?
Fell by 10*c when the wells were burned due to reduced light from the sun
What were the costs of the environmental damages in the gulf estimate to be?
$40 billion
How many were estimate to die in the gulf as a result of air pollution?
about 1000
What other environmental effects were there in the 1991 gulf war?
Destruction of the sewage plants in Kuwait
What were the effects of the destruciton of the sewage works in Kuwait?
the discharge of over 50,000 cubic metres of raw sewage every day into Kuwait bay
How many villages were destroyed in the Afganistan war?
10,000 along with the surrounding environment was destroyed
Why did safe drinking water decline in Afganistan during the war?
as destruction of water infrastructure and resulting leaks, bacterial contamination and water theft
Rivers and groundwater were contaminated by poorly constructed landfills located near the sources
What was Afghanistan’s landscape like before the war?
Major forests watered by monsoon
What led to much of the destruction of forests in Afghanistan?
During the war, the Taliban members illegally traded timber in Pakistan
US bombings
Refugees in need of firewood
How much of the forests of Afghanistan remain?
Less than 2%
What important global wildlife factor was affected by the Afgan war?
World migratory through fare
How much have the birds migrated through Afghanistan dropped?
85%
What problems did leopards face in the Afgan war?
Found shelter from bombings but mountainous habitat applied as a refuge for military forces
Refugees capture leopards and other large animals and trade them for safe passage across the border
