Unit Two: Southwest Asia and North Africa

Nate Hulse

1. Why do Southwest Asia and North Africa form a useful world region? What are some
of the problems associated with defining the region?

A: The region extends 4,000 miles from Morocco’s Atlantic coast to Iran’s eastern
border with Pakistan. Some problems with the region are that the name “Middle East”
carries a Eurocentric component that can exclude North Africa, Turkey and Iran. The
rise of Islamic fundamentalism has also caused some conflict within the region.

2. Describe the climatic changes you might experience as you traveled from the eastern
Mediterranean coast to the highlands of Yemen. What are some of the key climatic
variables that explain these variations?

A: As you travel from the Mediterranean coast to the highlands of Yemen, you will
encounter deserts, rocky plateaus and some of the tallest mountain ranges in the world.
Most of the region is a desert due to deforestation and overgrazing. Another cause of
the dry arid deserts is due to the lack of water management in the region.

3. Discuss five important human modifications of the Southwest and North African
environment, and assess whether these changes have benefitted the region.

A: Deforestation and overgrazing – have had a negative impact on the region leading to
the loss of forests.

Salinization – building up toxic salts in the soil has been a long time problem of the
regions making it especially hard for agriculture and water sources.

Water Management – tapping into groundwater with the qanat system in dry periods
and storing excess water underground during wetter periods. Water issues and politics
include countries that share water sheds.

Harvesting of unique plant species for pharmaceutical companies – has brought money
to the region but has also brought the extinction of some rare plant species.

Destruction of rare coral reefs – obviously not good for marine life and the survival of
the sea.

4. Discuss how pastoral nomadism, oasis agriculture, and dryland wheat farming
represent distinctive adaptations to the regional environments of Southwest Asia and
North Africa. How do these rural lifeways create distinctive patterns of settlement?
A: Pastoral nomadism occurs in dryer regions typically, but nomads use transhumance
because terrain of the land in this region allows for moving from environment to
environment. nomads are on the decline and government resettlement programs are
actively promoting a more settled lifestyle.

Oasis agriculture is possible where there is high groundwater levels or modern deep
wells in arid areas. There is more demand for consumption of crops grown in these
places, so new drilling and pumping technologies have added to the number of oasis
settlements. population growth, groundwater change etc threaten these.

Dryland wheat farming depends upon seasonal moisture. The region is flourishing with
more sophisticated technologies, higher demand, and fertilizer/crop specialization.

5. Compare the modern maps of religion and language for the region, and identify three
major examples where Islam dominates non-Arabic-speaking areas. Explain why that is
the case.

A: Turkey, Iran, half of Iraq and parts of Libya are dominated by older Indo-European
languages. The languages survive because they provide a sense of cultural identity.
The languages and cultures remain due to who is in power, and their languages just
branch of into different traditions.

6. Describe the role played by the French and British in shaping the modern political
map of Southwest Asia and North Africa. Provide specific examples of their lasting
legacy.

A: France was a committed colonial presence in North Africa. They came into Algeria
and Tunisia and pushed their languages and their cultures on everyone. France
gradually gained control of almost all of North Africa, and the landscape of modern
Algeria still reflects this in architecture and whatnot. Great Britain established
protectorates over coastal states of Arabian peninsula etc. Great Britain and France
made a secret pact to partition lands, British and Russian influence led to Persia being
turned into Iran.

7. Define Islamic fundamentalism and Islamism. Outline three regional examples where
Islamic fundamentalism or Islamism redefined the domestic geopolitical setting since
the late 1970s.

A: Islamic fundamentalism: return to more traditional practices within the Muslim region
Islamism: challenges encroachment of global pop culture and blames colonial, imperial,
and western elements for many of the regions economic social problems etc.

1. Algeria plunged into cycle of Islamist-led violence and protests

2. Egypt has found itself ensnared in Islamist-initiated instability, and groups like Muslim
Brotherhood are pushing for political change
3. Sudan really bad for Muslim north and Christian south--civil war and eventual
separation into North and South Sudan

8. Explain how ethnic differences have shaped Iraq's political conflicts in the past 50
years.

A: Iraq split into devout Shiites, Kurds, and Sunnis, this has led to Saddam Hussein
created a major source of instability getting them into a huge war and wrecking their
financial stability. American invasion in 2003 and they are working to fix some of the
issues caused by ethnic differences.

9. Describe the basic geography of oil reserves across the region, and compare the
pattern with the geography of natural gas reserves.

A: Saudi Arabia, Iran, UAE, Libya, and Algeria are major producers of petroleum in the
world. They play an important though less dominant role in natural gas production.
Arabian-Iranian sedimentary basin extends from northern Iraq and western Iran to
Oman and the lower Persian gulf--largest concentration of petroleum
Algeria, Libya, and Egypt also have both oil and gas reserves
Israel Jordan and Lebanon are geographically unlucky, as is Morocco.

10. What strategies for economic development have recently been employed by nations
such as Turkey, Israel, Egypt, and Morocco? How successful have they been, and how
do they relate to the theme of globalization?

A: Turkey ships textiles, food products, and manufactured goods to its principal trading
partners: Gernmany, US, France, Italy etc. Isreali exports emphasize the countrys
highly skilled workforce: cut diamonds, machinery, etc. Tourism for Egypt and Morocco.

"A known mistake is better than an unknown truth." -- Arab Proverb