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"Mr Füzes had voiced support for the Székler people, a group of ethnic Hungarians who live in Transylvania, after two Romanian counties banned the display of the Székler flag (pictured above with men in hussar uniform) on public buildings. Zsolt Nemeth, Hungary’s state secretary for foreign affairs, described the ban as an act of “symbolic aggression” and called for local councils in Hungary to show solidarity by flying the Székler flag from town halls. The Hungarian government then raised the Székler flag above Parliament, further enraging Bucharest..."
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Seth Dixon
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Failure by Belgium's political parties to form a government since elections in June have prompted fears of a split in the tiny European country. Al Jazeera's...
The riots linked to flag protests in Northern Ireland are causing "significant damage" to the economy, the secretary of state warns.
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Seth Dixon
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It is Italy's richest province, and has been part of the country for almost 100 years - but some in South Tyrol just do not feel fully Italian.
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Seth Dixon
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The story of the "Lost Boys" of Sudan is a heartbreaking and inspiring tale of youth caught in cultural and geopolitical conflicts and fored to leave their homes. The film God Grew Tired of Us tells a moving story of young people overcoming incredible challenges and struggling to improve their own lives and those of family and friends left behind." Linked here is a lsson plan from National Geographic "to teach students about concepts of migration, cultural mosaics, sense of place, and forces of cooperation and conflict among communities" using this 90 minute documentary. The film can be viewed online on HULU as well as other media outlets.
Tags: culture, Africa, political, conflict, war, migration, development, APHG.
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Seth Dixon
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Spain's dismal economy has residents of the country's richest region, Catalonia, wondering if they'd be better off going it alone. With their own language and distinct culture, Catalans have long pushed for independence from Spain.
This podcast merges several geographic strands together as economic turmoil in the southern portion of the Euro Zone has fanned the flames of cultural resentment and put discussions for Catalonian independence on the agenda for local politicians.
Questions to ponder: Will this internal devolution cause greater disintegration in the European Union or Spain? Would an independent Catalan be a wise move for the Catalonians? How would their independence impact Spain?
Tags: political, autonomy, economic, Europe, devolution, sovereignty, unit 4 political.
Syria is destined to fragment into three separate sectarian states after the regime of Bashar al-Assad is extirpated, according to Mohammad Yaghi, a Syrian jour...
"It no longer matters whether what is happening in Syria is a revolution or a conspiracy that preempted a potential revolution — or even a conspiracy targeting the 'non-aligned' countries. The substance of the matter is: Is it possible to save Syria from imminent disintegration?" This article that originally came from a Palestinian news agency serves as a good material to start a discussion about centripetal and centrifugal forces.
Tags: Middle East, devolution, political, unit 4 political and war.
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Seth Dixon
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The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) is not affiliated with the United Nations (UN). The UNPO seeks to represent nations (as opposed to states) that are not fully autonomous are without a vote in the UN. This group supports all ethnic groups in their pursuit for political self-determination, economic empowerment and environmental resource control. This is an excellent source for case studies in devolution, ethnic conflicts, indigenous peoples and many issues from both cultural and political geography.
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Seth Dixon
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What is devolution and how has it changed how Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales are governed? This article with videos, charts and images was designed as a primer for UK voters for the 2010 election to understand who devolution in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland were reshaping the political landscape in the United Kingdom. It is general enough that even though it is outdated as a news story, it serves as a concrete example from geography students to understand the processes and reasons for a decentralization of political power.
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Seth Dixon
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How can political stability and security be measured? What constitutes effective governance? Foreign Policy, in conjunction with the Fund for Peace, has created a statistical ranking to measure the lack of effective political institutions. For the 4th year running, Somalia has been statistically measured as the most failed state on Earth. Chad and Sudan are respectively ranked as the 2nd and 3rd most failed states.The 12 metrics that are a part of this index are: •Demographic Pressures •Refugees/IDPs •Illegitimate Govts. •Brain Drain •Public Services •Inequality •Group Grievances •Human Rights •Economic Decline •Security Forces •Factionalized Elites •External Intervention
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Seth Dixon
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The ancient Basque culture has survived against the odds. The Basques are an intriguing cultural group to study in part because of their linguistic distinctness is Europe (Basque is a non-Indo-European language) but also because they strive for greater political autonomy within Spain. This video could be used when teach about folk cultures, language, devolution, heritage as well as within a regional context.
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Seth Dixon
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I introduce this topic when teaching about Europe (regionally) or devolution (thematically). The tourism board bills them as "a European Mediterranean country," distinctly separate from Spanish cultural identity. Implied also is a political distinction as well with their NATIONAL history museum (select language to view in English). A google image search for "Catalonia is not Spain" will yield excellent visual materials to support the political will for greater autonomy.
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Seth Dixon
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Admission to the General Assembly of the UN is not open to all. The Palestinian Territories are just one of several regions without a seat at the world's top table. Palestine's bid for statehood and international recognition is making the political geography definition for state all the more relevant? What is a state and what is not? What function does UN membership play in the process of statehood and sovereignty?
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Seth Dixon
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New nations seem to pop up with alarming regularity. At the start of the 20th century, there were only a few dozen independent sovereign states on the planet; today, there are nearly 200!
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Seth Dixon
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The independence-minded region of Catalonia asks the Spanish central government for an extra 9bn euros (£7.7bn) in bailout money.
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Seth Dixon
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As Kurds Fight for Freedom in Syria, Fears Rise in Turkey of Following Suit
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SG
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As Catalonia goes to the polls, Sid Lowe looks at one of the region's great cultural sporting icons and its role in Catalan identity...
Sports and cultural identity of a region are often intertwined. As Catalonia is poised to break from Spain, this video shows how the local teams (especially FC Barcelona) are at the center of political identity and part of the very fabric of the political movement that is pushing for independence. For more, see this recent GITN.
Tags: sport, Spain, Europe, devolution, autonomy.
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Seth Dixon
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What is more likely to happen first: Greece will leave the eurozone, or Scotland will leave the UK?
Although there is currently only about 30% of Scotland that would support independence, this is something that will be gaining importance. The United Kingdom is a complex political entity, with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland connected with England. The "divorce referendum" will be help on October 2014 to see if Scotland wishes to dissolve this union and many of the political and economic events throughout Europe will be seen through this prism, especially the Euro Zone crisis in southern European countries (e.g.-Italy, Greece, Spain and Portugal). The possibility that this might happen are small, but as the article stated, "not zero."
Tags: devolution, supranationalism, political, states, sovereignty, autonomy, Europe, unit 4 political.
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Seth Dixon
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An interactive series of maps show possible new additions to the world’s list of independent nations.
This is great way to show examples of devolution and political instability. Included are 11 potential scenarios where further fragmentation/disintegration might occur or even greater regional integration that would redraw the map. These case studies include: Somalia, Korea, Azerbaijan, Belgium and the Arabian Gulf Union.
Tags: political, devolution, supranationalism, war, autonomy, unit 4 political.
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Seth Dixon
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Questions are growing about the fate of President Bashar Assad's regime. One possibility is the creation of a breakaway region in the northwest coastal mountains dominated by the president's Alawite minority. This podcast explores the geopolitical possibilities that are facing the minority Alawites of Syria. If the major cities of Syria fall to the rebels, would a smaller Alawite breakaway state even be economically or politically viable? This podcast argues that it would not, and therefore many Alawites see this as a zero sum game. While this is all speculative, it uses spatial and geographic prinicples to assess the viability of possible outcomes.
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Seth Dixon
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Twenty years ago this week, the Bosnian war began with the siege of Sarajevo, the longest in the history of modern warfare. The siege ended more than three years later, leaving 100,000 dead — the worst atrocities in Europe since World War II. Ethnic and political conflict led to the disintegration of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. This NPR podcast is a good recap that shows the devolutionary forces of ethnic, religious, cultural and political differences that led to tragic violence and ethnic cleansing.
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Seth Dixon
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Abshir Boyah, a pirate who says he has hijacked more than 25 ships off the coast of Somalia, says he will give up this career if certain terms are met. What economic, cultural and political circumstances in the 21st century would allow for piracy to exist? What are the impacts of piracy on Somalia?
Learn more about the ethnic, religious and political powerplays in and around Iraq during a virtual tour of the region led by NBC’s Richard Engel. This is an incredibly well-put together, video/slideshow about the complex geography of within Iraq that has lead to so many difficulties in the post-Saddam Hussein era. The ethnic patterns, religious divisions, spatial arrangements of resources as well as the larger regional context all play roles in creating the a contentious political environment.
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Seth Dixon
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Cypriots join the global protest movement to heal their divisions... Cyprus has a long history of violence between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, so the buffer zone protest which follows the #occupy model, has greater political, ethnic, historical and geographic implications. Will this grassroots effort open a political dialogue to resolve the island’s divisions? Here is the group's Facebook page. The video is long, but the first few minutes are especially relevant with a nice overview.
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Seth Dixon
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Resentment over the lavish federal subsidies paid to Chechnya and other regions in the North Caucasus could become a liability for Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. Multi-ethnic states, political geography and Russia's geopolitical complexities.
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This article also poses interesting questions of voting and citizenship. The Hungarian government granted citizenship beyond its borders, and jurisdiction, to ethnic Hungarians in Romania. What does this say about those Hungarians in Romania? Does it bring Hungary any closer to regaining the borders of the once Greater Hungary? Regardless of the questions of citizenship, such public and federal efforts to expand their borders and regain their ethnic population and homeland is doing more then turning heads. Look to this region for future conflict because the failure of geopolitical nations to represent ethnic homelands rarely ends peacefully.