World Regions Finals

Connectivity and navigable waterways

Connectivity- how well locations are linked via transportation and communication infrastructure; Europe has an extensive network of navigable rivers and canals supports barge traffic that is now impacted by climate change 

Cap and trade system and greenhouse gases

EU has world’s largest cap-and-trade system for reducing greenhouse gas emissions; buying and trading emissions like stocks and bonds

Europe’s low TFRs, zero population growth, & family-friendly policies

TFR is 1.5 for Europe, Germany is experiencing negative growth, encouraging people to have more kids with low birth costs, paid maternity leave, child benefits

“Europe without Borders” and the Schengen Agreement

EWB made crossing borders easier between EU states; Schengen Agreement means no “internal” border controls, but with 2015 refugee crisis, some countries re-imposed border controls 

“Fortress Europe”

Entering EU from outside EU is increasingly restrictive, southern countries carry the most burden for policing borders 

Indo-European language family

The most common in Europe

Romance, Germanic, and Slavic (where)

Romance- Western Europe

Germanic- Northern Europe

Slavic- Eastern Europe

Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, and Eastern Orthodoxy in Europe (where)

Eastern Orthodox- Eastern Europe 

Roman Catholicism- E, S, W, Europe 

Protestantism- Northern Europe 

Roman and Cyrillic alphabets

Roman alphabet spread with Roman Catholicism (Romance and Germanic), St. Cyril spread Eastern Orthodox and Cyrillic alphabet east (Slavic)

Nation-state concept

Nation-state- a cultural group with its own political territory in 18^th and 19^th century; it replaced feudal fiefdoms and empires as basic political unit

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization; a military supranational organization of 32 countries. Its purpose: protect member countries, especially from Russia 

European Union

Created in 1957 to promote a common market

Eurozone

19 countries using a common currency; 9 countries did not switch out of fear of dependency on other states’ economic fortunes and loss of sovereignty

European West

Most habitable part of Russia, is mostly flat and has good connectivity through rivers and canals

permafrost melt, subsidence, and greenhouse gases

Permafrost- unstable, seasonally frozen ground; construction difficult in freeze/thaw, leading to subsidence, which releases greenhouse gases

Russification

policy of settling Russians in non-Russia parts of USSR, meant to give economic incentives and to maintain Russian influence

Irredentism and Russia’s annexation of Crimean Peninsula

Irredentism- a country claiming land inhabited by their ethnic group from another country. Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in March 2014 because of a strategic position for military and economic trade 

Characteristics of authoritarianism in Russia

Suppresses independent news media, opposition political leaders, and public protests, Putin’s Russian critics have been imprisoned, poisoned, murdered, and forced into exile 

Superpower

Russia’s role as a superpower- a state able to exert influence over other states on a global scale; Diminished in 1990s after collapse of USSR, but regaining strength

UN Security Council & veto power

Russia is a permanent member (with veto power) of the powerful UN Security Council 

Oligarchs

Rise of oligarchs in Russia- small groups of individuals who rapidly accumulated vast wealth and have political influence 

Russia’s petroleum & natural gas exports

Russia has used fossil fuels and industrial metals to integrate itself into the 21^st century global economy, pipelines carry Russia’s natural gas from Siberia through Ukraine to EU countries 

Desiccation, the Aral Sea, and its partial restoration

Desiccation- drying up of wetlands and lakes; Aral Sea- inland lake bound by Kazakstan and Uzbekistan, also a massive Soviet agricultural irrigation project. Kazakhstan’s government working to restore northern part since 2001 

Alluvial fan

deposits of sediment from mountain streams which means rich soil 

Silk Road

Trade routes linking Europe and Asia from 2^nd c. BCE to 15^th c. CE; cities were important trade centers and it was a large hub of cultural exchange. It declined with the rise of the sea route

Sunni Islam

Spread on the Silk Road, largely practiced in Afghanistan

Dalai Lama & theocracy in Tibet

Prior to Chinese military invasion in 1950s, Tibet was led by the Dalai Lama= theocracy 

Buffer state between Russian & British Empires

Afghanistan

Taliban & Al Qaeda

Taliban arose in Afghanistan’s political void, created by radical Muslim youth and imposed strict Islam law, gave safe haven to Al Qaeda

Landlocked state

Afghanistan

Opium production

#1 export in Afghanistan

characteristics of China proper (3)

Populous east, ethnically Han, midlatitude climates

Tsunami

massive waves triggered by earthquakes, 2011 struck NE Japan following a 9.0 earthquake

Three Gorges Dam Project positives & negatives

Positives: prevent flooding, safe river navigation, hydroelectric power

Negatives: ecological damage, floods historical sights and scenic attractions, displaces 1.3 million people

Direct & indirect pollution exporting

Direct: exporting waste

Indirect: relocating pollution generating industries to other countries 

conurbation and the Tokkaido corridor

Conurbation- metro areas merge to form larger urban region; Japan’s Tokyo corridor- merging from Tokyo to Kobe to form 65% of population

Confucianism & Taoism

Confucianism- philosophy developed in China with goal of achieving social stability, deference to benevolent authority

Taoism- pursuit of harmony and balanced life

Mahayana Buddhism

Practiced across East Asia, seek nirvana with help of Boddhisatva's. Nonexclusive religion- followers may also adhere to other religions 

Marxism & religious suppression

Marxism- strictly atheist philosophy adopted by China’s Communist government. China eased restrictions on religious practice since 1980s in China proper 

nation-state example in East Asia

Japan

Communist China & Nationalist Taiwan

1930s- Communist and Nationalist parties emerged out of political chaos 

1949- Communists led by Mao took power, Nationalists fled to Taiwan  

China views Taiwan as a rogue province 

 “wolf warrior diplomacy”

China’s aggressive diplomatic style on global stage under Xi

export-led economic growth strategy

Japan’s focus on exporting manufactured goods to speed up industrialization, initial advantage based on cheap labor 

North Korea & self-sufficiency strategy

Juche, official ideology of North Korea; absolute loyalty to “Great Leader,” nation is more important than self 

China’s economic growth & size

World’s 2^nd most populous country, declining TFRs since 1970s, One Child Policy

Indian subcontinent, tectonic plate activity, & the Himalayan Mountains

Indian subcontinent collided with Eurasian continental plate forming Himalayas along a subduction zone, earthquake zone

Monsoon

Distinct seasonal change in wind direction; rainy, dry cool, hot

Green Revolution

Green Revolution- transfer of agriculture technology to developing countries to achieve higher yields 

Hinduism & Hindu nationalism

Hinduism- India’s most widely practiced religion, focus on reincarnation and release from it

Hindu nationalism- promotes Hindu values as essential to India’s social fabric  

caste system & dalit

Caste system- strict hierarchy of social classes; traditionally based on occupation; inherited; officially illegal today, but still socially recognized 

Dalit; too lowly to be part of a class, faced harsh discrimination, many converted to universalizing religions

Buddhism’s origins

Founded by Siddhartha Gautama “the Buddha” 2500 years ago in reaction to Hindu beliefs 

Islam in South Asia

Introduces by Central Asian invaders around 1000 C.E., today, Pakistan and Bangladesh are majority Muslim, India has 14% Muslim minority population 

relationship between Hindi & Urdu languages

Same spoken language, different scripts based on religious influences 

India’s independence & partition

Achieved independence in 1947, partitioned to create India and East and West Pakistan; 14-18 million people migrated, resulted in 1 million excess deaths 

Kashmir border conflict

The regions borders contested by India, Pakistan, and China; ongoing religious tensions since 1947, all 3 countries have nuclear weapons

democracy in India

Most populous democracy in the world

Federal state

Used in India, lawmaking power shared between central government and states 

India’s post-colonial protectionist policies

Protectionist policies: nationalized industries, monopolies, import substitution

forces triggering India’s economic liberalization

Persian Gulf War, breakup of Soviet Union

Liberal economic reforms

Allowed direct foreign investment, lowered import barriers, allowed free market competition

Mainland & Insular Southeast Asia

Mainland countries are contiguous, Insular countries are fragmented – archipelagos

archipelago

islands stretched over thousands of miles, like Indonesia

Sunda Shelf & Wallace Line

Sunda Shelf- extension of mainland continental shelf, enabled Asian animals to populate what are now islands

Wallace Line- divide between Asian & Australian flora & fauna, allowed migration

Southeast Asia’s religious diversity – Buddhism, Islam, Catholicism (where & how)

• Buddhism - dominant in mainland SE Asia (from South Asia and China)

• Islam- introduced by Muslim merchants from South and SW Asia, most populous in Indonesia

• Catholicism- Philippines, introduced by Spanish colonial rule

European & U.S. colonialism in Southeast Asia (where)

Strait of Malacca, established Singapore

Domino theory & U.S. in Vietnam

Domino theory- Cold War fear that if one country became Communist, neighbors would follow; sent US combat troops to Vietnam 

competing claims over Spratly Islands, Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ), & military outposts

Spratly Islands- tiny islands in South China Sea; disputed territory among SE Asian countries and China 

• China wants military outposts 

• Evidence of large undersea oil reserves 

  Exclusive economic zone- 200 nautical miles of ocean extending from a country’s coast 

• Controls fishing and drilling 

authoritarian capitalism

Singapore- free-market economy, but politically repressive (Ex: freedom of expression severely limited) 

crony capitalism & kleptocracy

Crony capitalism- close friends of political leaders given government contracts and other economic advantages 

Kleptocracy- widespread corruption in government 

Phillipines

high islands & hot spots

High islands- higher elevation and formed by recently active volcanoes 

Geological hot spot- a supply of magma rising through the ocean floor

Atoll

Formed from collapse of high island, coral reef around rim and lagoon in center with layer of fresh water floating on top 

low islands & climate change impacts

Low island- sandy and low elevation; built on coral reefs

Rising sea levels, wildfires and droughts, glacial melt in New Zealand

endemic species & marsupials

Endemic species- native to only one region

Ex: many marsupials and 2 monotremes endemic to Australia and New Guinea 

exotic species

nonnative plants and animals (brown tree snake, rabbits in Australia)

feral animals & desertification in Australia

Feral- domesticated animals released into the wild ; Ex: Australia- wild horses and camels contributing to desertification of the Outback; Ex: feral pigs, cats, and dogs destroying native flightless bird populations 

arrival of Aborigines in Australia & Maori in New Zealand

In 1788, Britain sends first wave of convicts to Australia 

microstates & Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs)

Microstates- independent states with small land area and population size, began gaining independence in 1970s 

Creation of 200-mile EEZs allow microstates to control large territories of the ocean, can develop or lease potential fishing and underwater mining resources 

Australia’s trade partners & primary export dependency

• Leading trade partner today = China #1, Japan, S. Korea, India, US 

• Primary export dependency, but diversified

APEC

established in 1989 to foster free trade and economic development among Pacific Rim and Basin countries