CGW 4U0 Canadian and World Issues

1. CGW 4U0Canadian and World Issues Introduction to Global Geopolitics Unit 3 – Geopolitics

2. A. Defining Geopolitics • The process of decision making by society as a whole, usually formalized at the government level. • International relations as portrayed on maps.

4. A. Defining Geopolitics ~ Definitions • Country • A sovereign entity with defined borders and an operational government • State • A sovereign entity but sometimes refers to national/ethnic composition • Nation • A grouping of people according to their ethnicity or some other commonality • Nation State? • A large aggregate of people united by common descent, history, culture, or language, inhabiting a particular country or territory

5. A. Defining Geopolitics • The earliest organisations of countries were nation states. France, Britain, Spain. Organisations based on religion, common language and ideas. This spread to other parts of the world but did not work particularly well. • Spain ~ Catalonia in Spain and the Basque region are both within the borders of Spain but each see themselves nationalistically different from the rest of Spain

6. A. Defining Geopolitics • The term ‘country’ is the easiest term to use but can also be a little vague. We will define a country as a sovereign entity.

7. England, Great Britain, The United Kingdom

8. A. Defining Geopolitics • The process of decision making by society as a whole, usually formalized at the government level. • Trade • Military Alliances • Industrial Development • Population Policies • Resource Management • Foreign Aid • Energy and Pollution

9. A. Defining Geopolitics • Geography can either affect or be affected by politics • Geographic facts may cause political changes • Switzerland limits immigration due to adequate population numbers • Political facts may cause geographic changes • Increased oil production of OPEC nations followed by the `increased output of CO2

10. A. Defining Geopolitics • Geopolitics involves the interaction between groups of nations. When interaction is confrontational, human rights are often at issue. • Loss of Life • Economic Deprivation • Religious Persecution • Torture • Arbitrary Detention • Abuse of Children

11. A. Defining Geopolitics • The United Nations Declaration of Human Rights • First written in 1948 - since revised (1968) • All Human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights • Everyone is entitled to all rights and freedoms without discrimination of any kind such as, race, colour, gender, language, religion, political opinion, national origin, property, birth or status.

12. B. Sovereignty and Ethnicity • A sovereign nation is one with a national government that is able to control what happens within its borders. • Unrestricted by the policies and actions of another government. • Often ethnicity and sovereignty conflict with each other. • The right of one ethnic group to achieve independence if it so wishes (self determination) has long been accepted in principal…although it is often ignored as a practice.

14. B. Sovereignty and Ethnicity • In practice, few ethnic groups have sole occupation of an area of land. • Members of other ethnic groups usually share the same area in a jumbled manner. As is the case in Quebec. • An ethnic minority seeking independence would itself create other ethic minorities. Where does this division of land for the sake of ethnic groups end?

15. B. Sovereignty and EthnicityThe African Scenario

16. B. Sovereignty and EthnicityMinority Rights and the United Nations • Minorities are often disliked by the population as they are expected to adjust to new culture very quickly. • Minorities are sometimes regarded as foreigners - even in the land of their birth. • The usual cause of this relationship is - XENOPHOBIA.

17. C. Levels of Spatial Hierarchy • Higher and lower levels of spatial hierarchy • Higher The European Union, NATO, Arab League, British Commonwealth, La Francophonie. These are all examples of multi-state unions. • Lower  Provinces, stateoids – generally not an issue until they become politically charged ~ especially as separatist units within their own countries.

18. C. Levels of Spatial Hierarchy • Kurdistan – roughly defined geo-cultural region wherein the Kurdish people form a prominent majority population,and Kurdish culture, language, and national identity have historically been based. Kurdistan borders Syria, Armenia, Iran, Iraq and Turkey. • In Iraq the Kurdish are now an autonomous region and is getting more autonomous. Its boundary does not coincide with any defined border. • There is a serious disconnect between the location of most ethnic groups and the borders that are drawn on maps

19. C. Levels of Spatial Hierarchy • Some countries are currently suffering an identity crises! • Examples of countries where more than one region is being straddled • Sub Saharan Africa • East Asia • Middle East • North Africa Ex. When Sudan was one country would it be classified as belonging to North Africa or Sub Saharan Africa?

20. C. Levels of Spatial Hierarchy • Other Areas of Confusion • Democratic Republic of Congo. • Not Democratic • Not a Republic • It is in the Congo Basin! • 2nd Largest country in Africa in area • A Geopolitical void in the centre of Africa with very little effective government. • DRC population is about 65million • North Kivu is a DRC stateoid of 3.5 million with about 380 000 people in refugee camps • BoscoNtagandawas their leader and wanted to make a new country called the Nation of the Volcanoes.

22. C. Levels of Spatial Hierarchy • Waziristan • Territory between Afghanistan and Pakistan. • Federally Administered Tribal Districts of Pakistan • Misnomer! Not really administered at all.

23. C. Levels of Spatial Hierarchy • The area dates back to British Administration as they had a very hard time with Afghanistan – having lost two wars there. • The region was set up as a BUFFER where the local people were given autonomy to rule themselves with the British acting as the administrators of the region’s foreign policy/relations • This role has been taken over by Pakistan • Is this problem LOCAL or INTERRELATED? • Interrelated as this is where the Taliban have been living. The locals have provided them with sanctuary and this is also where the USA has been pressure Pakistan to take action. The USA continues to fly drone missions in this area

24. C. Levels of Spatial Hierarchy • So what is a buffer? • A buffer is anything which is used to separate two or more things. • When a piece of land is used as a buffer it is hoped that the space created between two or more areas will act as a deterrent to conflict. (Buffer Zone) • Geographically this can make sense except for one important fact. Geopolitical conflict is not caused by the rivers, mountains or any other physical border between areas of land but by those who live in these lands. When one group of people is divided by another group of people there is a great chance that there will be conflict – especially over resources

26. D. The Misleading Bias of Mapping • It is crucial to learn the countries of the world. It is a great starting point because once you have learned the map of the world we can begin tearing it apart. • Maps are simplistic and often intellectually arrogant. They hide and obscure a lot and say things that are not always true.

27. D. The Misleading Bias of Mapping 1. Show Countries That do not Exist

28. D. The Misleading Bias of Mapping • Western Sahara was annexed by Morocco in 1975 after Spain withdrew from the area. They invaded and ruled until a cease-fire in 1991. It is now a frozen conflict. The Saharawi live there and their HQ is in Algeria.

29. D. The Misleading Bias of Mapping • Somalia • The map gives the impression that the land within the recognised borders of Somalia are both sovereign and government controlled. • In reality most of the area is clan controlled. Some come together to form autonomous regions • Puntland • Somaliland • But these borders change weekly and have since 1991

30. In true irony, the five points of the star on the Somali flag represent the five areas that Somalia would like to control including Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Kenya

31. D. The Misleading Bias of Mapping • 1. Do not show countries that do exist Somaliland is an independent country with a functioning government, army and currency (Shilling) but no one recognises it.

32. D. The Misleading Bias of MappingPost Soviet Areas – After 1991 • After the collapse of the Soviet Union sections of several former union chose to remove themselves from these newly independent areas. • Georgia • Azerbaijan • Abkhazia • Ossetia • NagornoKarabakh

33. D. The Misleading Bias of Mapping • No one recognizes them but they recognises themselves. Russia is threatened to recognise these areas in order to threaten Western Europe over their desire to recognise the legitimacy of the former Yugoslav region of Kosovo. • ‘If Kosovo can be independent then so can.... Abkhazia!’ • (We’ll see why Russia would care later in this unit)

34. D. The Misleading Bias of Mapping • Transnistria • Stuffed between Romania, Moldova and Ukraine and barely larger the Rhode Island, Transnistria declared itself independent after the Soviet collapse of 1991. They are culturally Moldovan and Romanian which is to say they are sort of Romanian as they speak Moldovan but do not live in either Romania or Moldova.. Confused? Moldovan is a romantic language, not Slavic but Russia which is Slavic backs them. • Transnistria is essentially a huge military industrial complex where weapons are built and sold along with other items such as illegal cigarettes, contraband drugs and people

35. They even have an official tourist site

36. D. The Misleading Bias of Mapping • THE DESCRIPTIVE vs. PROSCRIPTIVE AGENDA • Should maps describe things the way that they are or demonstrate things the way they should be? • Who’s opinion do we use in the proscriptive view? • US State Department vs. Russian Foreign Ministry • Why do we show places that do not exist and not show places that do exist? • Ex. Morocco shows Western Sahara as if ti is part of Morocco but the USA does not as the USA does not recognise this so they do not depict the map as such. • Maps then reflect the bias of the printing country

37. D. The Misleading Bias of Mapping • THE DESCRIPTIVE AND PROSCRIPTIVE AGENDA • After the British Empire was removed from South Asia in 1947 the Hindu Maharaja of Jammy and Kashmir was left to figure out the future of the land which he supposedly administrated. • India and Pakistan fight for the area and eventually agree to the ‘Line of Control’ but they do not recognise each others’ territory. • In 1962 China and India go to war and China grabs a part of Kashmir and neither side recognises each others’ territory • The USA can map it along the ‘Line of Control’ – Descriptive • Pakistan/India/China would show it different – Proscriptive • Maps of countries do not show capacity of national governments

38. D. The Misleading Bias of Mapping Map from the University of Texas Map from the Indian Tourism Ministry

39. D. The Misleading Bias of Mapping • EXCLAVES AND ENCLAVES • An exclave is a part of a country separated by the rest of a country by an intervening territory. • Alaska is an exclave of the USA

40. D. The Misleading Bias of Mapping • An enclave is a part of another country within a particular country • Kaliningrad is an ice free port on the Baltic Sea and is a part of Russia. Russia has to cross through Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia (all NATO countries) in order to get troops to Kaliningrad. It was a German territory (for 800 years) lost by the Nazis after their defeat in 1945 • Lesotho – In the middle of South Africa

41. D. The Misleading Bias of Mapping • Even more complicated with water • Avery piece of land belonging to a country is permitted 200 nautical of an economic exclusive zone. What about islands that do not even poke out from the ocean during low tide? • Spratly Islands are claimed by China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippians and Brunei. • China was caught building military facilities...errr... Fishing platforms in the area.

42. D. The Misleading Bias of Mapping • Pacific Ocean (Broken into blocks map) • Guam (colony of the USA) • Northern Marianas (USA) • Marshal Islands (USA) • Micronesia • These are all protectorates of the USA and are sort of independent • France still has colonies in Borneo and New Caledonia • New Zealand has the Cook Islands • Kiribati (Kiribats) Island of 100 000 people covering 1 000 000 square miles of ocean.