Our World

November 14th

This is a recap of class for today November 14th. We started by drawing trivia, and then we took notes. After concluding note taking we watched an informative video on the Israel/Palestine conflict, and completed a corresponding worksheet. Here are the notes for today:

-Colonial Legacy
European colonizing came late to the region.
The Ottoman Empire dominated.
Widespread European colonialism after WWI.
Political boundaries set by colonial powers.

-Imposing European Powers
French in Algeria since 1800 later in Tunisia, Morocco, Syria, and Lebanon.
British on the Arabian Peninsula, and the Persian Gulf by 1900.
Suez Canal was British engineered the canal links the Mediterranean and the Red Sea in 1869.
European banks influenced Egyptian economy.
British were instrumental in establishing Saudi Arabia.
Italians in Libya, Spanish in Morocco.
Turkey, Iran(Persia) never occupied.

-Decolonizing/independence
Europe began to withdraw before WWII.
Algeria became independent in 1962.
By 1950 most countries were independent.

-Modern Geopolitical Issues
Arab-Israeli conflict.
Creation of Israel in 1948.
Three Wars 1956, 1967(Irael gained most land), 1973.
Intifada 1987, Palestine uprising protesting Jewish settlement.
Ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

-Trouble In Iraq
Born in colonial era carved from British Empire in 1932.
Many different groups, Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds, Marsh Arabs.
US has troops in Iraq conflict continues.

-Politics Of Fundamentalism
Originated in Iran 1978-1979.
Shiites clerics (Khomeni) overthrew the Shah.
Sudanese fundamentalists overthrew democracy in 1989.

-Conflicts within States
Lebanon conflict among Sunnis and Shiites and Christians.
Results of spread of Palestine refugees to region.
Cyprus conflicts between Greeks and Turks.
Green Line= demarcation set up by UN peacekeepers that divided the capital of Nicosia in Cyprus.

-Uncertain Political Future
International political relations remain complex.
Israel and Turkey are US allies.
Iran and Syria oppose the United States.
Oil plays a role.

posted by Anonymous @ 11/14/2006 05:19:00 PM