Conceptual Approach to North Africa and Middle East Region PDF

IR IN NORTH AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST UNIT 1 CONCEPTUAL APPROACH TO THE NORTH AFRICA AND MIDDLE EAST REGION Fundamental parameters. A geopolitical vision of the region Dr. Julieta Espín...

IR IN NORTH AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST UNIT 1 CONCEPTUAL APPROACH TO THE NORTH AFRICA AND MIDDLE EAST REGION Fundamental parameters. A geopolitical vision of the region Dr. Julieta Espín 1 Conceptual definition Arab countries Islamic world Near East, Middle East, “Levante” Maghreb-Mashreq Southwestern Asia y North Africa 2 Conceptual definition Arab countries It excludes minorities and non-Arab countries. 3 Conceptual definition Islamic World/ Islamic countries It excludes non-Muslim minorities and leaves out It excludes other regions of the Muslim world with very different sociocultural characteristics. It excludes non-Muslim minorities and leaves out other regions of the Muslim world Examples: India in Indonesia, Bangladesh, Nigeria or Pakistan. In fact, there are more Muslims living outside the region. Of the estimated 1.6 billion Muslims in the world, only about 317 live in the ME and Maghreb area. 4 Conceptual definition Near East, Middle East, “Levant” They imply a Eurocentrist view of the world. Asia is the East. The Middle East and the Near East were used during World War I by the English who occupied it, then the Middle East prevailed. Proche-Orient for France. Maghreb-Machreq West and East in Arabic Southwestern Asia y North Africa A term coined to eliminate the Eurocentrist background of the Middle East or Near East. It is intended to be more aseptic being a purely geographical description. 5 Conceptual definition Great Middle East incorpores former Soviet Republics with Muslim population. 6  Google Maps 1. From Morocco's Atlantic coast to Pakistan (broarder definition) 2. Arab countries of the Eastern Mediterranean, Turkey, Israel and Iran Geographical 3. Any of the many variants of the above delimitations: demarcation Egypt, Israel, the countries of the Fertile Crescent and the Arabian Peninsula (central core) plus the Maghreb. Sudan may or may not be included. Just The Mashreq. They exclude the Maghreb because they do not consider it Arab Turkey: is a Muslim country and shares the Kurdish problem with Iraq, Iran and Syria. Besides being the head of the Ottoman Empire. Others exclude him for not being Arab. Just as Iran. 7 Geographical demarcation MAP QUiZ Find Middle Eastern and North African countries The Middle East and North Africa: Countries https://online.seterra.com/en/vgp/3242 8  OUR Geographical demarcation Delimitation for the course: Muslim countries of Iran and Turkey to the northeast; Arab States of Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and Iraq, as well as Israel and the Occupied Territories; the Arabian Peninsula that includes Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the Sultanate of Oman, the Arab Republic of Yemen and the United Arab Emirates; States of North Africa: Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Egypt and Sudan, as well as Mauritania and the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic. 9  Physical and geographical framework Aridity/Dryness and lack of water. Wadis, Sahara, Libyan and Arabian Deserts Some of the largest mountain ranges in the world: Atlas Mountains, Zagros mountains and Taurus mountains. Historical rivers: the Nile, the Tigris, the Euphrates Zone of contrasts and extremes: intense colds and heats, deserts and forests, fertile plains and arid mountains, temperate coasts and hot inlands. 10  Resources Crossroads of three continents, and therefore very important for Athenian, Roman and Byzantine empires. “Bread basket of Europe". Low in agriculture but with very productive areas due to its Mediterranean climate. The Nile Valley, the Fertile Crescent, the Mediterranean coasts, the Black Sea, and the Caspian Sea Main crops; wheat, rice, lentils, barley, citrus, vine, olives, figs, dates and nuts, apples, peaches, apricots, watermelons and melons. Industrial crops: Egyptian, Syrian and Sudanese cotton; the linen, and hemp from the Fertile Crescent; Yemen coffee and tea from Iran and Turkey. Fish is little consumed, but Caspian Sea caviar, Black Sea tuna and Persian Gulf sardines are famous. In terms of food they are net importers. 11  Subsoil resources Western Sahara alone has 25% of the world’s phosphate reserves. The whole area is rich in natural gas, zinc, coal, copper, potassium, iron, manganese and lead/plumb. Oil. Main extraction zones: 1) Southeast and northeastern Iran; 2) Northern Iraq; 3) Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States; 4) Northeastern Egypt and; 5) Sahara and Libyan deserts. As underdeveloped countries, commodity exporters are vulnerable to international market prices. 12  Human Resources Source Geography https://geography.name/north-africa-geography-and-population/ Countries with young populations and, until recently, with high rates of fertility and birth, that have declined in recent decades. Some countries suffer labor surplus and workers migrate to other regions, mainly the Gulf States and Europe - especially qualified or semi-qualified labor -. https://datosmacro.expansion.com/demografia/natalidad 13  Hormuz Geostrategic Strait significance Bab el Mandeb Crossroad among three continents with important land and sea communication routes that have linked it to the rest of the world. Peoples, ideas and commerce came through its routes. 1) Bosphorus (north) and Dardanelles Straits (South) 2) The Suez Canal 3) Bab el Mandeb Strait 4) Strait of Hormuz Russian expansionism to the south and east during the 17th and 19th centuries, provoked an interest in the northern part of the region, particularly around the control of the Bosphorus straits and Iran. During the Cold War it became another stage of bipolar confrontation. Growing need of industrialized countries to access their resources establishment of military bases Refugee crisis and migration processes in Turkey, Morocco, Libya, Lebanon, etc. Containment zones for Europe. 14 Activity. Label these places 15 MIDDLE EAST AND MAGHREB End of presentation PhD Julieta Espín 16