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Malaysia’s ‘Allah’ controversy

Is limiting the use of the Arabic word for God a sign of growing intolerance towards minorities?

Source: stream.aljazeera.com

In Arabic, the word Allah means God.  Christian Arabs refer to God as Allah and Arabic versions of the Bible reference Allah.  As Arabic and Islam have diffused in interwoven patterns, the linguistic root and the theological meanings have became intertwined to some.  BBC World and Al-Jazeera have reported on this issue as the Malaysian government has attempted to ban the use of the word Allah to any non-Muslim religious group.  Language and religion just got very political.  

Tags: language, religion, political, Malaysia, SouthEastAsia, culture, Islam.

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Lies Your World Map Told You: 5 Ways You’re Being Misled

“Unfortunately, most world political maps aren’t telling you the whole story. The idea that the earth’s land is cleanly divvied up into nation-states – one country for each of the world’s peoples – is more an imaginative ideal than a reality. Read on to learn about five ways your map is lying to you about borders, territories, and even the roster of the world’s countries.”

Source: www.polgeonow.com

This is a nice article to get students to look past the officialness of a world map to explore some of the complexities that make contemporary political geography so compelling.  In a nutshell, this article discusses 5 major themes:

  1. Missing countries
  2. Incomplete control
  3. Undefined borders
  4. Disputed territories
  5. Territorial seas

Tags: borders, mapping, political, territoriality, sovereignty.

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African borders

“About the history of the creation of Africa borders and debates about African borders.”

Source: mycontinent.co

Disregard the rough English grammar; this is a nice article to show some of the historical, ethnic, linguistic and political complexities behind African borders.  This would be a great supplemental article to help AP Human Geography students to prepare for Question 2 of the 2014 AP Human Geography Exam that focused on superimposed boundaries within an African context.  

Tags: APHG, language, Africa, colonialism, borders, political.

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Five Things To Know on World Refugee Day

“There are more people displaced by violence and conflict on the planet right now than at any time since World War II.  The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) says the number of people forcibly displaced, including refugees, asylum-seekers, and internally displaced persons has now reached over 51 million.” 

Source: blogs.state.gov

From the difference between refugees and internally displaced people, to the gendered impact of refugees, this shines some light on the problems confronting refugees as well as on some of the solutions. 


Tags: refugees, migration, conflict, political, war.

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Iraq’s Current Devolution

“A radical fringe Islamic group names ISIS is fighting to establish a extremist Islamic state in Iraq and Syria…and beyond. They control eastern Syria, western Iraq, just took control of Iraq’s 2nd largest city of Mosul and are advancing on the capital Baghdad.  In this podcast, the professor John Boyer outlines just a few of the contributing factors to why this significant event is taking place, the geographic/historic background of the state, and the consequences for the future of the region.”

Source: www.youtube.com

If you haven’t yet discovered John Boyer, a.k.a. the Plaid Avenger,  I recommend exploring his site.  He has numerous resources for world regional geography and current global affairs.  His colorful persona is highly entertaining for college age-students as his class attracts over 3,000 students each semester (you can decide for yourself whether that personality works for you and your classroom).  This particular ‘plaidcast’ discussion focuses on Iraq’s current devolution and possible total collapse. 

Tags: Syria, Iraq, MiddleEast, conflict, political, geopolitics, borders, colonialism, devolution.

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CrisisWatch: The Monthly Conflict Situation Report

Mapping global conflict month by month.

Source: crisisgroup.be

You and your students can browse through this interactive map for an update on conflict situations around the world.  The International Crisis Group is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization committed to preventing and resolving deadly conflict; they’ve created this interactive map to help us stay informed about the most important conflict issues around the world.  I’m placing this on my list of favorite resources as this is one worth returning to on a regular basis.

Tags:  conflict, political, geopolitics, best of the best.

CrisisMap

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Where Will The World’s Water Conflicts Erupt?

As the climate shifts, rivers will both flood and dry up more often, according to the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Shortages are especially likely in parts of the world already strapped for water, so political scientists expect feuds will become even more intense. To track disputes worldwide, researchers at Oregon State University spent a decade building a comprehensive database of international exchanges—-both conflicts and alliances—over shared water resources. They found that countries often begin disputes belligerently but ultimately reach peaceful agreements. Says Aaron Wolf, the geographer who leads the project, “For me the really interesting part is how even Arabs and Israelis, Indians and Pakistanis, are able to resolve their differences and find a solution.”

Source: www.popsci.com

Too often we think of political conflicts within the framework of state borders; this mapping project divides the world into watersheds and forces us to look at global politics through a different and enlightening lens (Hi-Res image).  Oil might be the most economically valuable liquid resource, but water is the most critical for human habitation.  This infographic is reminiscent of this one, asking where the next ‘water wars’ might take place.   


Tags: water, political, unit 4 political,  environment, conflict, infographic. 

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England, Britain and the UK

This is the short version of the differences between these interrelated places and terms; the long version (in the video below) is much more complicated than this.

Tags: Europe, political, unit 4 political, states, toponyms.

See on imgfave.com

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Globalization

The world is becoming more and more interconnected. Globalization changes how people consume, work and live almost everywhere on the world. Today, many economic, political, cultural or ecological relationships are not explainable from a national perspective. At the same time, a controversial debate about the consequences of globalization has begun.

Questions to ponder: What are the driving forces behind globalization? What areas are most impacted by globalization?  How does globalization benefit some, and adversely impact others? Why?

Tags: Globalization, economic, industry, NGOs, political, scale, unit 6 industry.

See on www.youtube.com

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