1. Chapter 8: Political Geography
The Cultural Landscape:
An Introduction to Human Geography

2. Where are States Located
Concepts of Political Geography
Nation
People with shared cultural identity
State—A politically organized territory with a sovereign government that is recognized by the international community.
The term “country” is a synonym for “state.” The term state, as used in political geography, does not refer to the 50 regional governments inside the US. The 50 states in US are subdivisions w/in a single state.
Nation-State
Recognized political unit where the territory of the state coincides with the area settled by a certain group of people (certain ethnicity…)

3. Examples of 20th Century Nations
Many people are becoming more loyal to nation than to their state. The “war on terror” is the US fighting an enemy that has no border but is linked by its radical Islamic views.
Nations are usually located w/in the borders of a country. Different nations include Koreans, Kurds, Basques, & Flemish.
Kurds (Middle East)
One of the largest nationalities in the world without their own state. They are located Turkey, northern Iran, and northern Iraq. The majority of Kurds speak their own language and practice Islam.
Basques (Europe)
A fiercely independent group living in the Pyrenees Mountains. Most live in Spain, but small numbers live in SW France. They have their own language, Euskara. Basque separatists have resorted to terrorism to try to gain independence in hopes of gaining their own nation-state.

4. Examples of 20th Century Nations
Flemish (Europe)
Live in north Belgium. Their official language is Flemish (also called Dutch) and they are distinct from the Walloons of Belgium who reside around Brussels and whose official language is French.
About ¾ of Flemish are Roman Catholic, which separates them from many other northern Europeans, who tend to be Protestant.
Flemish separatists would like their country to be called Flanders
Palestinians (Middle East)
Estimated 9.5 million people; most live in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and the Golan Heights of Israel.
A Palestinian has been defined as any person who was living in Palestine prior to With the creation of Israel in 1948, many Palestinians fled to neighboring countries (Jordan, Syria, Lebanon).
A Palestinian country could be created in Israel to ease tensions in this hostile region.

5. Examples of States and Nation-States
Earth is divided into just under 200 countries. These countries are more correctly termed states.
In the past century, the number of states has increased by over 100.
Nation-States
Denmark, Germany, Greece, Ireland (Europe)
Denmark—a small Scandinavian country who all speak Danish as their primary language. Outside of Denmark, only a small section of northern Germany also speaks Danish.
Israel, Iran, Turkey (Middle East)
Japan (Asia)
Within Japan, 99.5% of the people are ethnic Japanese.

6. How has pursuit of nation-state ideal caused conflict?
Conflict in Northern Ireland and Belgium (Europe)
Northern Ireland—conflict between the Protestants and Roman Catholics.
Belgium—conflict between the Flemish and the Walloons
Conflict in Israel and Lebanon (Middle East)
Israel—conflict between the Jewish and Palestinians
Lebanon—conflict between the Muslims and the Christians
Conflicts in Europe and Middle East occurred as a desire for independence, land, and to be governed by people who share their ideology.

7. Almost all habitable land belongs to a country today
In 1940, there were only about 50 countries
Today, there are 192 countries (as evidenced by UN membership)

8. UN Members—Greatest increase in sovereign states has occurred in Africa. Breakup of USSR and Yugoslavia stimulated the formation of more new states during early 1990s.

9. Where are States Located
Korea: One State or Two?
A colony of Japan until Japan was defeated in WWII.
After WWII, Korea was divided into two sections at 38th parallel.
North Korea—Communist gov’t, South Korea—Democratic gov’t
North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950, which began a 3 year war that ended w/ a cease-fire near the 38th parallel.
Both Korean governments are committed to reunite the country into one sovereign state.
North Korea hurt progress by building nuclear weapons when it lacked the ability to provide its citizens w/ food & electricity.
In 1992, UN admitted N. & S. Korea as separate nations.

10. North and South Korea
A nighttime satellite image recorded by the US Air Force shows the illumination of electric lights in South Korea, whereas North Korea has virtually no electric lights, a measure of its poverty and limited economic activity.
FIGURE 8-1

11. Where are States Located?
China and Taiwan: One State or Two?
Most other countries consider China and Taiwan as separate countries.
However, China’s gov’t claims that Taiwan is a part of China.
This situation arose from a civil war in China during the late 1940s between the Nationalists and the Communists. After losing, the Nationalists fled to Taiwan (1949), 120 miles off Chinese coast.
Until they could defeat the Communists, the Nationalists argued they could continue to govern one island of the country.
Until 1971, the US regarded the Nationalists as the official gov’t of China, so many Americans opposed acknowledging that China was under control of the Communists.
1999—Taiwan’s president announced the Taiwan would regard itself as a sovereign independent state.
Taiwan is now the most populous state not in the United Nations.

12. Where are States Located?
Polar Regions: Many Claims
The South polar region contains the only large landmasses on Earth’s surface that are not part of a state.
Several states claim portions of the region, and some claims are overlapping and conflicting.
US, Russia, and other countries do not recognize the claims of any country in Antarctica.
The Antarctic Treaty, signed in 1959, provides a legal framework for managing Antarctica. States may establish research station but no military activities are permitted.

13. Antarctica is the only large landmass that is not part of a sovereign state.
It comprises 5.4 million square miles, which makes it 50% larger than Canada.
FIGURE 8-3

14. Where Are States Located?
Varying sizes of states
State size varies considerably
Largest state = Russia
11 percent of the world’s land area
Smallest state = Monaco
It is only 0.6 square miles.
It is a Microstate = states with very small land areas
About two dozen microstates in the world
If Russia were the size of a piece of paper, then a microstate would be the size of a single letter on the page.

15. Monaco: The Smallest State
FIGURE 8-17
Monaco: The Smallest State

16. Ancient & Medieval States
The concept of dividing the world into a collection of independent states is a new concept.
Prior to 1800s, Earth’s surface was organized in other ways, such as city-states, empires, and tribes. Much of Earth was unorganized territory.
Development of states can be traced to ancient Middle East in an area known as the Fertile Crescent. The modern movement to divide the world into states originated in Europe.
Ancient & Medieval States
Ancient Fertile Crescent—formed an arc between Persian Gulf and Mediterranean Sea. Situated at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa, it was a center for land & sea communications in ancient times.
First states to evolve in Mesopotamia were city-states, which were sovereign states that comprise a town & surrounding countryside.
Walls clearly identified boundaries of city-states. Periodically, one city would gain military dominance & form an empire. Mesopotamia was organized into a succession of empires by Sumerians, Assyrians, Babylonians, & Persians. Egypt emerged as a separate empire to the west of the Fertile Crescent.

17. FIGURE 8-6

18. Where are States Located?
Early European States
Political unity reached its height during the Roman Empire, which controlled most of Europe, North Africa, & SW Asia.
Roman Empire collapsed in the 5th century after a series of attacks by people living on its frontiers & because of internal disputes.
The European portion of the Roman Empire was fragmented into a large number of estates owned by competing kings, dukes, barons, & nobles.
Around year 1100, a handful of powerful kings emerged as rulers over large numbers of these European estates.
This consolidation formed the basis for the development of states such as England, France, and Spain.
Most of central Europe, notably Germany & Italy, remained fragmented into a large number of estates until the 19th century.

19. Where are States Located?
Colonies
Colony—A territory that is legally tied to a sovereign state rather than being completely independent.
European states came to control much of the world through colonialism, which is effort by one country to establish settlements in a territory and to impose its political, economic, and cultural principles on that territory.
European states established colonies elsewhere for 3 basic reasons:
Promote Christianity, Extract useful resources, Establish relative power through the number of their colonies. Summarized as God, gold, & glory.
Colonial era began in 1400s, when European explorers sailed westward for Asia but encountered and settled in Western Hemisphere instead.
Eventually, European states lost most of these colonies in Western Hemisphere through independence movements.
European states then turned their attention to Africa and Asia. European colonization of Asia and Africa is termed imperialism, which is control of territory already occupied and organized by an indigenous society, whereas colonialism is control of previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land.

20. Colonial Possessions 1914—At outbreak of WWI, European states held colonies in much of the world, especially in Africa and Asia. Most of the countries in the Western Hemisphere at one time had been colonized by Europeans but gained their independence in 18th or 19th centuries.

21. Colonial Possessions 2006—most remaining colonies are tiny specks in the Pacific Ocean, too small to appear on the map. The most populous current colony is Puerto Rico, a Commonwealth of the US, with 4 million residents on an island of 3,500 square miles. Puerto Ricans are citizens of US, but do not participate in US elections and are not represented in Congress.

22. European Colonialism Colonialism -
a physical action in which one state takes over control of another, taking over the government and ruling the territory as its own.
Two Waves of European Colonialism:

23. Stateless Nations
Sovereignty-complete control over a territory’s political & military affairs. Some nations do not have their own state-this can lead to conflict.
Palestinians are the most well known example—a stateless nation in conflict with Israel over territory.
Kurds-about 20 million people live in Kurdistan, which covers 6 states, since the 1991 Iraq War-Kurdish Security Zone has been virtually independent.
1990s the Palestinian Arabs gained control of fragments of territory, but most of the 6.5 million Palestinians still live in Israel and elsewhere.
Jordan 2.1 million
Lebanon 400,000
Syria 350,000
Today radical Hamas has taken over Gaza (occupied by Israel until 2005) after defeating Abbas & the Fatah movement founded by Yasir Arafat.
Gaza faces (pop. 1.4 million in 140 square miles) 50% unemployment

24. Why Do Boundaries Between States Cause Problems?
Shapes of states—Countries have one of five basic shapes:
Compact: Efficient
Distance from center to any boundary does not vary significantly. Ideal compact state would be a circle w/ capital in center.
Elongated: Potential Isolation
Long & narrow shape (ex: Chile)—A region located at an extreme end of the region may be isolated from the capital.
Prorupted: Access or Disruption
An otherwise compact state w/ a large projecting extension. Proruptions are created to provide access to a resource or to separate two states that otherwise would share a boundary ((ex: Afghanistan (see next slide)).

25. Prorupted State—The otherwise compact state of Afghanistan has a proruption approximately 200 miles long and as narrow as 12 miles wide. The British created this proruption to prevent Russia from sharing a border with Pakistan.

26. Why Do Boundaries Between States Cause Problems?
5 Basic Shapes of Countries (continued)
Perforated States: South Africa
Describe a state that completely surrounds another state
South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho, so Lesotho must depend almost entirely on south Africa for import and export of goods.
Fragmented States: Problematic
These states include several discontinuous pieces of territory
2 kinds of fragmented states: Those that are separated by water (ex: Indonesia which comprises 13,677 islands between Pacific and Indian Oceans) and those that are separated by an intervening state (ex: Panama which was divided by the Panama Canal Zone until 1999).

27. Shapes of States in S. Africa
Compact—Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, & Uganda
Elongated—Malawi & Mozambique
Prorupted—Namibia & Democratic Republic of Congo
Fragmented—Angola & Tanzania.
Colors show the European colonial rulers in 1914.

28. Why Do Boundaries Between States Cause Problems?
Types of boundaries
Physical—coincide w/ significant features of the natural landscape
Desert boundaries—The Sahara has generally provided to be a stable boundary separating North and South Africa.
Mountain boundaries—Argentina & Chile agreed to be divided by the crest of the Andes Mountains.
Water boundaries—Historically, they are good protection against attack from another state. Law of the Sea (signed by 158 countries) has standardized the territorial limits of countries to claim rights to bodies of water and the rights for countries to fish (exclusive rights to fish w/in 200 miles of coast).

29. Physical Boundary: Andes Mountains
Boundary between Chile and Argentina

30. Why Do Boundaries Between States Cause Problems?
Types of Boundaries (continued)
Cultural—follow the distribution of cultural characteristics.
Geometric Boundaries—Part of US boundary w/ Canada is a 1,300 mile straight line along 49 degree north latitude.
Religious Boundaries—Religious differences often coincide w/ boundaries between states. Example: British partioning of India—Hindus got India & Muslims got Pakistan.
Language Boundaries—After WWI, leaders of victorious countries met at Versailles Peace Conference to redraw the map of Europe. Language was the most important criterion the allied leaders used.

31. FIGURE 8-14
Geometric Boundary: Aozou Strip—The boundary between Libya and Chad is a straight line, drawn by European countries early in the 20th century when the area comprised a series of colonies. Libya, however, claims that the boundary should be located 100 kilometers to the south and that it should have sovereignty over this strip.

32. Left-the Demilitarized Zone between North Korea & South Korea is heavily defended by both sides
Bottom left-the US-Canadian border is the longest undefended border in the world.
Bottom right-the Rio Grande forms the border between Mexico and the United States which is porous enough to allow millions of illegal immigrants to cross.

33. Why Do Boundaries Between States Cause Problems?
Cyprus’s “Green Line” Boundary
Cyprus, 3rd largest island in Mediterranean Sea, contains two nationalities—Greek and Turkish.
When Cyprus gained its independence from Britain in 1960, its constitution guaranteed the Turkish minority a substantial share of elected offices.
After a series of attempts from both sides to take control of the government, the northern part of the Island declared itself the independent Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, but only Turkey recognizes it as a separate state.
A wall was constructed between the two areas, and a buffer zone patrolled by the UN was delineated across the entire island.
The two nationalities had previously mingled. However, after the wall was established, the two nationalities became geographically isolated.

34. Cyprus Boundary

35. Why Do Boundaries Between States Cause Problems?
Types of Boundaries (cont’d)
Frontier—A zone where no state exercises complete political control. It is a tangible area, whereas a boundary is an invisible, imaginary line.
Frontier provides an area of separation, but a boundary brings two neighboring states into direct contact, increasing the potential for violent face-to-face meetings.
Almost universally, frontiers between states have been replaced by boundaries. Ex: Most of the borders between Saudi Arabia and its neighbors remained frontiers until recently.

36. Frontiers in the Arabian Peninsula
Fig. 8-8: Several states in the Arabian Peninsula are separated by frontiers rather than precise boundaries.

37. Law of the Sea Not on PP Guide but include in Notes!
Starting in 1982, the oceans of the Earth have been regulated by a treaty known as the Law of the Sea, established by the UN Convention. This convention set up rules regarding water boundaries and rights of usage for Earth’s oceans.
Under this treaty, the coastal state has:
Exclusive fishing rights and sovereignty over a territorial sea of up to 12 nautical miles from its coast.
Limited jurisdiction over a territorial sea up to 24 nautical miles from its coast (the right to enforce laws of immigration, sanitation, hot pursuit).
An exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of up to 200 nautical miles off its coast for natural resource exploration and exploitation.

38. Why Do Boundaries Between States Cause Problems?
Boundaries inside states
Within countries, boundaries are drawn to separate different ethnicities or to provide an advantage to a political party.
Unitary states
Places most power in hands of central gov’t
Works best in nation-states characterized by few internal cultural differences and a strong sense of national unity.
B/c it requires effective communications w/ all regions of the country, smaller states are more likely to adopt it. Unitary states are more common in Europe.
Federal states
Allocates strong power to units of local gov’t w/in a country.
Under this system, local gov’t boundaries can be drawn to correspond w/ regions inhabited by different ethnicities.
More suitable for large states (i.e. Russia, India, Canada, Brazil)
Globally, there is a trend toward federations.

39. The U.S. Federal Government –
Allows states within the state to determine “moral” laws such as death penalty, access to alcohol, and concealed weapons.
Minnesota’s concealed
weapons law
requires the posting of signs such as this on buildings that do not allow concealed weapons.

40. Why Do Boundaries Between States Cause Problems?
Electoral geography
Boundaries within the United States are redrawn periodically to ensure that each district has approximately the same population.
In most US states, the job of redrawing boundaries is entrusted to the state legislatures. The political party in control of the state legislature naturally attempts to redraw boundaries to its own benefit. This process is known as gerrymandering. Gerrymandering takes 3 forms:
Wasted vote—spreads opposition supporters across many districts but in the minority.
Excess vote—concentrates opposition voters in a few districts.
Stacked vote—links distant areas of like-minded voters through oddly shaped boundaries.
SC ruled gerrymandering illegal in 1985 but did not require dismantling of existing oddly shaped districts.
Through gerrymandering, only about 1/10 of congressional seats are competitive.

41. FIGURE 8-18a
Wasted Vote—In all of these diagrams, Party A has 52% and B has 48%. This type spreads opposition supporters across many districts as a minority. If Party A controls the redistricting process, it would win the election by putting 13 Party A voters and 12 Party B voters in each district, thus winning all 5 districts.

42. FIGURE 8-18b
Excess Vote—Concentrates opposition supporters into a few districts. If Party B controls the redistricting process, it could do this by putting 13 of its voters and 12 of Party A voters in four of the five districts and concentrating 17 party A voters and only 8 Party B voters in the 5th District, thereby giving Party B the likelihood of winning four of five districts.

43. FIGURE 8-18c
Stacked Vote—Links distant areas of like-minded voters through oddly shaped boundaries. If Party A controls the redistricting process, the trend is for state legislatures to create three districts each with 15 of its voters and 10 of Party B’s voters and two districts both with 10 of its voters and 15 of Party B’s voters. That way, all 5 districts are safely in possession of one party, with a majority of three for Party A and two for Party B.

44. FIGURE 8-19a
Iowa—A state that does not have gerrymandered congressional districts. Each district is relatively compact and boundaries coincide w/ county boundaries.

45. FIGURE 8-19b
North Carolina—Democrats gerrymandered congressional districts to concentrate Republican voters. Democrats won 8 of NC’s 13 seats in 2008, although Democrat Barack Obama won NC by only 0.4%.

46. Florida
Republicans gerrymandered congressional district boundaries to concentrate Democratic voters. Republicans won 15 of Florida’s 25 seats in 2008, although President Obama carried the state by a comfortable margin of 205,000 votes (2.5%).
FIGURE 8-19c

47. Supernationalism Supernationalism Some examples of supernationalism:
Political, economic, and/or cultural cooperation among national states to promote shared objectives.
Tendency for states to give up political power to a higher authority in pursuit of common objectives.
Some examples of supernationalism:
European Union, NAFTA, United Nations, NATO, Warsaw Pact, League of Nations, Arab League

48. Supernationalism
What are some ways in which supernationalism has changed the political and economic geography of Europe?
Created a larger market (greater trade, reduced tariffs)
Greater international influence (more political/economic power)
Open borders (for labor/tourists)
Common currency
Common policy (resources, trade, environment, military) or Loss of control over individual policy
Has made war less likely

49. Supernationalism (States Cooperating)
Political and military cooperation
During Cold War era (late 1940s to early 1990s), global and regional organizations were established to prevent a 3rd world war.
The United Nations (est. 1945)
Established after WWII, it is the most important global organization
Plays an important role in trying to separate warring groups in a # of regions.
UN tries to maintain strict neutrality
Despite its shortcomings, the UN represents a forum where virtually all states of the world can meet & vote on issues w/o resorting to war.

50. Regional Military Alliances
Era of Two Superpowers
Before WWI, there were 8 superpowers, so no state could dominate.
During Cold War era, US and USSR were world’s superpowers.
To maintain strength outside their countries, both US & USSR established military bases in other countries.
Because so much power was concentrated in these 2 countries, the world became comprised of 2 camps, one for USSR & one for the US
Military Cooperation in Europe
After WWII, most European states joined NATO (for US) or Warsaw Pact (for USSR). For NATO allies, the objective was to prevent USSR from overrunning West Germany & other smaller countries.
After Soviet Union collapsed, Warsaw Pact disbanded, and # of troops under NATO command decreased. Many East European countries joined NATO to provide an important sense of security against any future Russian threat.

51. (Left) Economic and military alliances in Europe during the Cold War
(Right) Post-Cold War economic and military alliances in Europe.

52. Supernationalism (States Cooperating)
Economic Cooperation
Contemporary pattern of global power displays two key differences from Cold War Era:
Important elements of state power are increasingly economic rather than military: China, Japan, and Germany have joined ranks of world superpowers b/c of economic success, whereas Russia has slipped.
The leading superpower is not a single state, but an economic union of European states (European Union).
European Union
Currently has 27 member countries
Main task is to promote development w/in the member states through economic cooperation.
EU has taken on more importance in recent years. It has removed most barriers to free trade. Also, EU introduced the euro as common currency, eliminating many differences in prices & interest rates.
These actions has turned Europe into the world’s wealthiest market.

53. Devolution Devolution Examples of Devolution
Breakup of a state (Balkanization)
Relinquishing of autonomy to internal units
Process by which regions w/in a state demand and gain political strength and growing autonomy at the expense of the central government.
Examples of Devolution
Breakup of a state: Yugoslavia, former USSR, Austria-Hungary
Demand for greater autonomy: Belgium (Walloons and Flemish), India (Pakistan, Bangladesh), US (Hawaii, native peoples).

54. How has Devolution Changed Europe?
Changes resulting from devolution in Europe:
Formation of new states/governments
More power to regions (local control over policy, formation of new legislatures).
Regional separatism
Political instability (civil war, fighting, hostility, ethnic cleansing)
Mass migration (refugees, emigration)

55. Why Has Terrorism Increased?
Systematic use of violence to intimidate a population or to coerce a government into granting its demands.
From the Latin word meaning “to frighten”
Use of bombing, kidnapping, hijacking, and murder to instill fear and anxiety in a population.
Terrorism differs from assassinations b/c its attacks are aimed at ordinary people rather than at military targets or political leaders.
Terrorism Against Americans—US suffered several attacks recently
Examples: 9/11 attacks, Oklahoma City bombing

56. FIGURE 8-22
United Flight 175 approaches (left) and crashes into it (right). Tower 1 is already burning from the crash of American Flight 11.

57. Aftermath of World Trade Center Attack—Laser technology was used to create a topographic map of the World Trade Center site 8 days after the attack. Colors represent elevation above sea level (green) or below sea level (red) of the destroyed buildings. Rubble was piled more than 60 feet high where the towers once stood.

58. Why Has Terrorism Increased?
Al-Qaeda
Founded by Osama bin Laden. His father had established a construction company in Saudi Arabia & become a billionaire through close connections to the royal family. Bin Laden used his inheritance to fund al-Qaeda.
Bin Laden moved to Afghanistan during mid-1980s to support fight against the Soviet-installed gov’t.
He issued a declaration of war against the US in 1996 b/c of US support for Saudi Arabia and Israel.
Argued that Muslims had a duty to wage a holy war (jihad) against US citizens b/c US was responsible for maintaining the Saud royal family and a state of Israel dominated by Jews.
Destruction of the Saudi monarchy and the Jewish state of Israel would liberate from their control Islam’s three holiest sites: Mecca, Madinah, and Jerusalem.

59. Why Has Terrorism Increased?
State support for terrorism
Several states in the Middle East have provided support for terrorism in recent years.
Three increasing levels of involvement for state support of terrorism:
Providing sanctuary for terrorists wanted by other countries
Supplying weapons, money, and intelligence to terrorists
Using terrorists to plan attacks

60. Why Has Terrorism Increased?
State support for terrorism
Libya
Accused of sponsoring a 1986 bombing of a nightclub in Berlin, Germany, popular w/ US military personnel then stationed there, which killed 3 people, one of which was a US soldier.
Afghanistan
As part of a war against terrorism, US attacked Afghanistan in 2001 when its leaders, known as the Taliban, sheltered bin Laden and other al-Qaeda terrorists.
The Taliban had gained power in 1995 and had imposed strict Islamic fundamentalist law on the population.
6 years of Taliban rule came to an end following US invasion. When US attention shifted to Iraq and Iran, the Taliban were able to regroup and resume an insurgency against the US-backed Afghanistan gov’t.

61. Ethnic Groups in SW Asia—During Cold War, US and USSR viewed conflicts in this region as part of a global struggle in support of or against the spread of communism. Recently, US officials have regarded conflicts as part of a global war on terror. As map shows, boundaries between ethnic groups do not match boundaries between countries, especially Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, & Pakistan. This mismatch plays a critical role in the region’s many wars.

62. Why Has Terrorism Increased?
State support for terrorism
Iraq
US claims of state-sponsored terrorism proved more controversial in regard to Iraq than to Afghanistan.
2003—US led attack to depose Saddam Hussein from presidency.
US justified actions by claiming that Hussein had created biological and chemical weapons of mass destruction. Few countries supported US assessment that Iraq still had WMDs.
Iraq is divided into 150 tribes. After Hussein was toppled, the tribes established control over their local territories. Now, most Iraqis have stronger loyalty to a tribe than to a national gov’t.
Iraq’s principle ethnic groups are split into regions: Kurds in north, Sunnis in center, and Shiites in south.
US expected an enthusiastic welcome after removing Hussein from power. Instead, the US became embroiled in a violent struggle among the various religious sects and tribes.

63. Tribes in Iraq
Iraq is home to 150 tribes. This map shows some of the larger ones.

64. Why Has Terrorism Increased?
State support for terrorism
Iran
After election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president in 2005, relations between US and Iran deteriorated.
US accused Iran of harboring al-Qaeda members. More troubling was Iran’s aggressive development of a nuclear program. Iran claimed that its nuclear program was for civilian purposes, but other countries believed that it was intended to develop weapons.
Pakistan
Western Pakistan, along the border w/ Afghanistan, is a rugged, mountainous region inhabited by several ethnic minorities where the Taliban have largely been in control.
Osama bin Laden was found and killed here by a US Navy Seals team in This raised questions about whether or not the Pakistan gov’t had harbored bin Laden and other al-Qaeda members.

65. The End.
Up next: Development