EQ2 Flashcards
4a) national sovereign states: Iceland
factors impacting national identity:
- geographical location
- landscape (over half the 320, 000 popn. live in Reykjavik)
- dependence on the sea
- isolation
laws and society fiercely protect its cultural heritage and identity through continuing rituals and traditions (children’s names must come from a preserved list to maintain the language of Icelandic sagas)
average of 30,000 tourists a year
4a) national sovereign states: Singapore
factors impacting national identity:
- first est by Sir T. Raffles in 1819 (as a British colonial trading post) and was split into ethnic areas (Eur. Town China Town, Chulia Kampong, Kampong Glam)
- became independent in 1965, now with a population of 5.6 mill!!
- population today reflects its globalised present and multicultural past with a vibrant mix of culture, language and food etc.
(can national identity develop with such a diverse population?! the nation has only been independent for just over 50 years, not much data on past identities and 95% of the population are immigrants or descendants of immigrants meaning a connection to common ancestry is lost for most people)
4b) the impact of the Berlin Conference
1884-5
meeting of representatives of 14 countries from European nations and the US
purpose was to discuss and divide up Africa into economic spheres of influence while establishing free trade zones and freedom of navigation on rivers
after the conference colonisers moved quickly in the ‘Scramble for Africa’: to claim as much land as possible
new country borders were super imposed into existing indigenous regions: African people had no say!!! there was no account taken if any tribal or linguistic boundaries
consequentially there have been a high frequency of conflicts in the decades that followed some of which are still prevailing to this day
4b) national borders defined by colonial history can be problematic: Rwanda
before Berlin conference, it was a unified region
post WW1, Belgium became in change of this newly created country
- favoured Tutsi minority (14%) over Hutu majority for their European features and in 1926 produced ethnic identity cards to officially differentiate.
!!! gained independence in 1962 BUT government was contested and seen as illegitimate… colonial ruling turned the people of Rwanda against one another leading to rebelling of the Hutus killing Tutsis
1994: president of Rwanda was killed, this event catalysed a mass genocide (800,000 tutsis and moderate hutus) all can be traced back to colonial involvement and ignorance from the western world: wrongful enforcement of borders.
4c) contested borders: Russia/ Ukraine
Crimea= stretches from Southern Ukraine into the Black Sea
population of Crimea: 58% ethnic Russians, 24% ethnic Ukrainians and 12% Tatar muslims
Crimea was transferred to Ukraine in 1954, dissolution of the Soviet Union in 199
in 2014, Russian backed forces seized back control of Crimea (after Ukraines pro- Russian president was driven out) on the basis that the majority of the population was ethnically Russian and the Ukraine government wasn’t successfully protecting them.
following the invasion, a snap referendum was held in Crimea where Russian majority voted to join back with Russia but is regarded by the UN as illegal!!!!! (imposed sanctions but these were relatively unsuccessful)
SEVASTOPOL (main base for Russia’s Black Sea Fleet due to its strategic location) is also located in contested Crimean region
in 2022, Russia deployed 100,000 soldiers on the Ukrainian border with the US deploying 8500 to try and defend Ukraine
4c) not all nation states are recognised: Taiwan
independent since 1950 but China still claims sovereignty over it and regards Taiwan as a rebel province and insists that no other nation should have any relations with Taiwan (abuse of power)
….. despite the economic isolation imposed upon it, Taiwan has become one of Asias economic successes through the production of computer technology
first female president in 2016: Tsai Ing-Wen aims to pursue Taiwanese sovereignty and formal independence but by doing so she risks antagonising China
5a) 19th century nationalism: emergence of Europes nation states
pre 1500s: people lived in small communities and travel was rare
between 1500 and 1900: emergence of many nation states, many European powers were building global empires… S. America invaded and colonised by Spain whilst UK, France and Belgium colonised parts of Asia and Africa
influence of FRENCH REVOLUTION 1789… helped establish nationalism as a force (Bonaparte believed in military expansion provoking anger across Europe)
5b) disintegration of empires: ‘Winds of Change’ in Africa
colonial rulers of sub saharan Africa gradually gave up political control to new independent governments
—- prime minister Harold Macmillan gave famous speech to the whites only S. African parliament in 1960s where he said the ‘growth of national consciousness is a political fact’
the same year 17 African countries gained independence (many more followed)…. beginnings of African nationalism
5b) post colonial conflict: South Sudan
- some newly independent states like Sudan were left unable to successfully govern themselves which has lead to many conflicts and wars.
- prior to independence British ruled over Sudan
‘divide and rule’ policy pitted the Sudanese people against each other
north (being mainly modern Arab) prospered more than the south (being mainly black tribal) leading to tensions - independent in 1956, since then the country has lacked internal cohesion (large size, ethnic diversity)
South Sudan was established in 2011, in 2013 civil war broke out, by 2017 famine declared (1 million people loss of food supplies)
since independence, 2 million lives have been lost due to conflict (2015)
5b) post colonial conflict: Vietnam
Vietnam War, one of the deadliest battles of the Cold War which lasted from 1954- 1975
early c20th… nationalist and communist movement broke out challenging French rule
power vacuum created after removal of colonial powers, saw capitalist vs communism= HUGE loss of life and environmental damage
3 million people died (including 58,000 US military personnel)
6a) tax havens: the Cayman islands
very low corporation tax
0% personal income tax
in 2015 average GDP per capita was $58,000 (worlds 14th highest)
100,000 registered companies including 40 of top banks/ investment companies
tax havens offer political stability and have secure banking and legal systems
6) company tax avoidance statistics
- Amazon paid no UK tax in 2021, 75% of its EU profits are attributed to an empty shell company in Luxembourg
- Apple in 2015 held 89% of its total cash abroad ($158 billion) —> in doing so avoided paying 35% in corporate taxes
- The USA: in 2015 estimated $2 trillion in cash was being held overseas by American companies
6c) alternative models: S. America (specifically Bolivia)
Evo Morales election in 2006
- worked to undo 20yrs of privatisation and influence of the IMF
(believed privatisation had simply= big profits for TNCs which leaked out the country)
2007= Bolivia’s NATIONAL COALITION FOR CHANGE
— nationalised resources (profits going to government)
— reduced primary exports (boosted domestic manufacturing of previously imported products)
— redistributed wealth to lower classes
— promoted local businesses
6c) evaluation of Bolivias alternative model (sustainable economic system)
:) GDP per capita inc. from $1,200 in 2006 to $3,472 in 2019
:) gas connectivity inc. by 835%, electricity by 150%
:) reduction of population in poverty (22% in 2006 —> 6% in 2019)
:) lower government debt
:( concerns economic boom could be replaced by a bust
:( still heavily reliant on natural resources (falling gas prices could damage economy)
:( environmental problems due to pollution
:( Morales had strained relations with some IGOs and the USA
