Geographic and Demographic Trends in Europe and the Middle East

These flashcards cover key concepts related to geographic and demographic trends in Europe and the Middle East as outlined in the lecture transcript.

What causes binary seasons in the mid-latitude regions during summer months?

The migration of a mid-latitude high pressure cell.

What climatic conditions are ideal for growing grapes, olives, and hard wheat?

A descending air that rose at the tropics.

What are common products produced from climates suited for grapes and olives?

Wine, olive oil, and pasta.

What characteristic growth patterns are observed in European populations?

Slow or negative natural growth, characterized by low birth rates and low death rates.

How do some countries promote natural population growth?

Through payments for children and incentives in labor laws.

What demographic trend is observed in migration within Europe?

A trend from Eastern Europe to Western Europe.

Which regions have high sending rates and low or negative natural migration rates (NMRs)?

Balkans, Eastern Europe, and former Soviet States.

Which countries in Europe are known for having high natural migration rates (NMRs)?

Germany, France, the UK, and Italy.

What is the Schengen Agreement?

An agreement allowing citizens of many EU countries to travel within member states with little to no border checks.

What are hard borders?

Strict border controls found on the periphery of the EU or near larger sending regions outside the EU.

What are the four urbanizations that should be understood?

Greco-Roman, Medieval, Industrial, and Postmodern.

What does the term Balkanization refer to?

Fragmented geopolitical processes and mini-nationalist movements within a state.

What is supranational foreign policy?

A foreign policy whose authority is derived from a group of states.

What is physiologic density?

The number of people per arable unit of land.

What is agricultural density?

The number of farmers per arable unit of land.

Where did the Bantu people originate?

West Africa.

When did the Bantu migration to the central Congo basin occur?

3500 years ago.

What cultural elements followed the Bantu migration to southern Africa?

Agriculture, metalworking, and cities.

What are protectorates?

Establishments of foreign dominance over a state's trade and economic affairs in exchange for protection.

What was the policy of Apartheid in South Africa?

A racist 'separateness' policy with three scales of division.

What are the three scales of the Apartheid policy?

Petty, Meso, and Grand.

What does tribalism signify in postcolonial SSA countries?

The primary association of oneself to a defined ethnicity rather than the state.

What are refugees?

People who flee their own states to avoid civil war, persecution, or catastrophic economic conditions.

What are internally displaced persons?

People who flee their homes but remain within their own state.

What characterizes the Middle East geographically?

A crossroads between Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, and South/East Asia.

What is a significant domestic resource in the Middle East?

Water.

What is a key global economic resource in the Middle East?

Oil.

What historical region is known as the birth of many early civilizations?

The Fertile Crescent.

Which three world religions originated in the Middle East?

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

What agreement divided the Levant and Mesopotamia into French and British zones?

The Sykes-Picot Agreement.

What year marked the establishment of the Jewish state of Israel?

1948.

What has characterized the Arab-Israeli conflicts since 1948?

Multiple conflicts including those in 1956, 1967, and 1973.

What were the uprisings that began in December 2010 in the Middle East called?

The Arab Spring.

What common causes fueled the Arab Spring uprisings?

Dissatisfaction with authoritarian rule and economic downturn.

What major social process has been occurring throughout the Middle East since 2010?

A series of social and political uprisings.

What is a primary characteristic of governmental changes during the Arab Spring?

Government overthrows in several countries such as Tunisia and Egypt.

What problem results from spatial unevenness of development in the Middle East?

The juxtaposition of very wealthy countries against extremely poor countries.