1.1.3. Bola Tinubu, the new president of neighbouring Nigeria, who chairs the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a 15-member regional bloc, said that he will not tolerate any situation that incapacitates the democratically elected government of the country.. This is Saudi Arabias game. At the heart of the old Middle East, where Ottoman Turkey, Arabia and the southern Mediterranean met, lies Syria where rhetoric, fighters and arms from Saudi Arabia and Qatar, Libya, Turkey and Iran, are currently converging, with their great power allies at their backs. Some examples include delays in opening the Iraq-Saudi pipeline and the further frequent closures caused by conflicts (Cohen 410). The impact of the Iraq War on the Arab Spring is more difficult to sort out. In a speech shortly after the vote Mr Netanyahu promised that he would once again pursue consensus on these matters. Where France and Germany view Greece as the sacrificial lamb of the European debt crisis, Israel views it as an opportunity. Most of the second-level regions are con-tained within the realms. There is little sign that China or Russia are responding to US pressure to compromise, each being more powerful now than they were when the US attained unipolar power after the 1990 Gulf War. These are topics of vital interest to conflict resolution. Critical Turning Points in the Middle East: 1915-2015, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011. Print. Cohen illustrates why those regionsthe convergence of what he terms the Maritime, Heartlandic Russian, and East Asian realms have become "Gateways," while the Middle East remains a "Shatterbelt" and much of South America and Sub-Saharan Africa have grown marginalized.The author argues that whether certain areas become Gateways or . This pits its members against Russia, Syrias long-time supporter, and provider of arms and intelligence to Assad. - These transitways have drawn in Great Powers. The database is updated daily, so anyone can easily find a relevant essay example. Cohen, Saul Bernard. Strapped for energy as a result of the sanctions on Iran, Greece is an ideal recipient of Israels new-found gas off its shores in the Mediterranean. Its vibrant commercial relations with Tehran have dwindled in the face of Irans sanctions and support for Syria. When Saddam launched the long Iran-Iraq war in 1980, Syria rallied to support the Persians. The government, which includes religious and . The Iraq War revealed significant problems with how the Army and Air Force, in particular, viewed the future of warfare, leading to technological and doctrinal innovations that have improved U.S. warfighting capabilities. The US is deploying thousands of Marines and additional forces to the Middle East following recent Iranian attempts to seize commercial shipping vessels, the Pentagon announced Thursday. Moscow regularly responds to U.S. criticism of its actions in Ukraine by referring to the 2003 invasion, although it also points to the 1999 Kosovo War and the 2011 Libya intervention. Turkeys past support is gone. Extra Raptors and Zumwalts could enhance American freedom of action at the margins, but would hardly have changed the trend lines of relative power in East Asia. President Emmanuel Macron of France agrees. The Korean Conflict finished with the line among North . Eastern Europe is a shatterbelt because it contains numerous impoverished, underdeveloped, and weak states sandwiched between the powerful global rivals of Russia and the West (western Europe and the US). The KRG is exercising increasing independence within the loose federalist structure of the new Iraq, not least by striking its own oil deals with multinational companies in direct repudiation of Baghdads rules. It goes too far to claim that more attention to Afghanistan in the middle of the last decade would have led to the complete destruction of the Taliban, and an end to the war. The fragility of such regions is the result of long-standing clashes with a great deal of disruptive influence, light chaos, and, in general, a propensity for devastating conflicts in these regions. O n July 24th Israel's parliament, the Knesset, passed the first in a series of laws aimed at drastically limiting the powers of the country's . This is Iraqi Kurdistans game. The framers of the war hoped that the establishment of a democratic Iraq would spur anti-authoritarian reactions around the region, although they also hoped that U.S. clients (including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf states) would be spared. Mr Zelensky added that Russia's approach to grain and Africa was like its earlier use of oil and gas in Europe. The PKKs emboldened stance has led to harsh retaliation from Istanbul, which in turn has sent armed PKK fighters to seek cover across the mountainous Iraqi border. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shatter_belt_(geopolitics)&oldid=1163588580, This page was last edited on 5 July 2023, at 17:22. The Middle East as a shatterbelt region is characterized by deep divisions within and between sovereign states and societies. As an undergraduate student at Harvard, I took courses in Political Geography with Derwent Whittlesey. In the fifteen years after the end of the Cold War, the U.S. public became more tolerant towards the use of force than it had been in the post-Vietnam era. While . Under pressure from the extreme elements in his coalition, he abandoned efforts to find any kind of compromise. political regions: the Soviet Heartland and East Asia. Indeed, the Middle East lies on the world's largest "shatterbelt" - an area described felicitously by American geographer Saul Cohen as the region of contact between the world's great sea and. In the case of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, it became apparent after the first few months that the war was not working out as its framers had envisioned. The biggest effects of the Iraq War, and the most enduring limitations, may have come in how the conflict affected the U.S. military, and changed the attitudes of Americans toward the use of force . What would Americas strategic options look like today? And then there are the next stages in the judicial overhaul. Nowadays, Middle East is the most significant and troubling shatterbelt in the world. General geopolitical situation in the Middle East List 5 main points for each. Today, the wiser among us recognize that dual containment was, in large part, a solution to its own problem. 1.1.2. [4] Hence the term "shatter belt" generally refers to a geographical region that is endangered by local conflicts within the states or between countries in the region, as well as the involvement of opposing great powers outside the region. (Recommended: 5 ISIS Weapons of War America Should Fear). 2021. (5 points each"25 total)a) Geopolitical Analysis for 2019: Middle East (11:47)b) Saudi Arabia Geopolitics (17:32)c) Geopolitics of Turkey in Asia (10:56)d) Geopolitics of Turkey in Europe (10:56)e) Geopolitics of Iran (6:55)From the PowerPoints: The Middle East Shatterbelt (25 points total)1. The inability of the US and the rest of the West on one side, Russia and China on the other, to compromise, led master-mediator Kofi Annan to resign. As first among equals of the Great States, the U.S., in partnership with the E.U. Second, it undermined the legitimacy of the Afghanistan war by presenting the operation merely as one of (potentially) several invasions of Muslim countries, rather than as a uniquely necessary effort to destroy a uniquely horrible regime. However, the reluctance to use force has surely played some role in the Obama administrations reaction to the Syria conflict, which has raged with minimal American intervention for the last four years. In the immediate term, probably very little. Similarly, Future Combat Systems would not have given the United States much more in the way of political options for resisting Russian encroachment into Ukraine. The increasingly painful waiting game is escalating global tension, and linking the Middle East into a single, multi-dimensional crisis. (2021) 'Geopolitics: The Middle East Shatterbelt'. Middle East . May 9, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/geopolitics-the-middle-east-shatterbelt/. However, the most important characteristic is being located far from major geopolitical powers, thus falling victims of their desire to increase control over the region (Kasperson and Minghi 185). The recent record shows that the five permanent Security Council members are unable to agree on a plan for either Irans nuclear programme or Syrias civil war. The complexity of the system requires the leadership of all the major and regional powers to keep the world in balance. Introduction. Instead, the US is concentrating on boosting its naval power in the Persian Gulf to offset any Iranian retaliation should Israel strike or sanctions become too suffocating. Yet an audio message whose authenticity has yet to be verified has apparently been issued by Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagners boss. The East-Med crescent, begins in Israel, goes through Cyprus and onto Greece, and is built on Mediterranean gas. A son of the Muslim Brotherhood, he represents a party that is politically experienced in the role of opposition politics, a movement that enjoys widespread popular trust, has shown itself adaptable both inside and outside Egypt, and knows, probably better than any other, the nature of the Salafi threat. IvyPanda. With respect to the major powers of the world, the system is now intermediate between the latter two, enhancing the prospects of peace among those powers, and including ascending regional powers such as Brazil and India. In Burkina Faso gun-toting men took power in January 2022 before a different set of khaki-clad men overthrew them in a second coup in September. Redrawing the Middle East Map: Iran, Syria, and the New Cold War. Mr Bazoums former deputy director of cabinet, Daouda Takoubakoye, said the coup was for personal convenience justified by arguments drawn exclusively from social networks. In the longer term, a weaker judiciary could be bad for business and harm Israel's legal defences abroad. Deaths from conflict in the first six months of this year in Niger have been the lowest of any similar period since 2018. Late in the evening of July 26th a group of soldiers appeared on Niger's national television to declare that they had "decided to put an end to the regime that you know". Answer: A shatterbelt originates when rival great powers have footholds in a single area. Israel's democratic foundations are relatively fragile. Define the current borders of the Eastern European countries. Al-Rodhan, Hayef, Graeme Herd, and Lisa Watanabe. [1/2]Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs a cabinet meeting at the prime minister's office in Jerusalem, Monday, July 17, 2023. A tempestuous period of protest is in prospect. Beginning with a survey of geopolitics and its practitioners, Saul Bernard Cohen explains geopolitical terms, structure, and theory. But Mr Bazoum clearly has supporters on the street, too. On July 24th Israels parliament, the Knesset, passed the first in a series of laws aimed at drastically limiting the powers of the countrys Supreme Court. "Geopolitics: The Middle East Shatterbelt." As Great Powers become mutually dependent, the possibility of Shatterbelts to mutate to Gateways increase, as in the case of the Eurasian Conversion Zone and Eastern Europe. [5] Regions marked as a shatter belt are often blamed for interstate war and conflict, especially in relation to major power conflicts. Today, the second Arab Cold War has a different tinge. Currently, stasis prevails because Syria is so much less welcoming of outside intervention than was Libya. The primary challenge is the fact that the region becomes significantly involved in the confrontation between the United States and Russia as well as other geopolitical powers China, India, and the European Union (Farmanfarmaian par. Though oil and terrorism are both important, the real reason is the Middle Easts potential to draw the US, Russia, the EU and China into a global conflict a risk that is rising. Cohen illustrates why those regions the convergence of what he terms the Maritime, Heartlandic Russian, and East Asian realms have become "Gateways," while the Middle East remains a "Shatterbelt" and much of South America and Sub-Saharan Africa have grown marginalized. Second, the border conflict and the complex, if close relationship between Erbil and Istanbul, are seriously straining relations between Turkey and Iraq. Regardless of whether given uprisings saw success or not, the Arab spring ushered in a new regional political culture. This is Israels game. Strategic Location of Middle East: Junction of Africa, Asia, Europe. , This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline "A dangerous move", Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents, The last solid ally of the West in the Sahel has been toppled. If you are the copyright owner of this paper and no longer wish to have your work published on IvyPanda. Copyright The Economist Newspaper Limited 2023. The hub of this crescent is located in Turkey and Egypt, with Jordan, Lebanon and far-off Tunisia and Morocco loosely attached. Without Iraq, the United States might have a much larger fleet of F-22s, for example. The industry leader for online information for tax, accounting and finance professionals. From cultural barriers to different ethnic groups as well as nationalities, this region is very diverse. (Recommended: 5 Israeli Weapons of War ISIS Should Fear). Next-door Lebanon is restive in the shadow of Syrias civil war. It is unlikely the new junta will improve security. JERUSALEM, July 25 (Reuters) - Israel's parliament ratified new legislation this week that rolls back some Supreme Court powers, despite mass protests and U.S. misgivings. When the Knesset returns in October after a long summer recess, the coalition plans to put forward legislation which would give it control of the appointment of Supreme Court judges. In Syria, the revolts resulted in civil war and the rise of ISIS that undermines global peace and stability. Critically, and unlike in other areas, small states located inside them can significantly affect the course of conflict simply by changing sides, shifting the balance of power across a tipping point. Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld certainly made pursuit of such technologies a priority, at least before Iraq derailed his plans. Now, Lakhdar Brahimi, previously special representative for Afghanistan and Iraq, is tasked to bring the Syrian opposition and the Bashar al-Assad government to the negotiating table. (2021, May 9). The political boundaries of North Africa and the Middle East can best be described as the product of which of the following processes? In the process, Iran became another heart. And indeed, the fruits of the Arab Spring have been limited at best. [6] Unlike most geopolitical regions that have a different degree of cohesion, the regions considered shatter belts are global destabilizers.[3]. Indeed, Egypt is showing regional leadership by joining with Turkey to invite Iran and Saudi to find new solutions to the Syrian conflict. Netanyahu has strongly denied any connection between his trial and an overhaul he says will only serve Israel's democracy. After the soldiers announced the coup, he continued defiantly to tweet. Jihadists will cheer, The fall of Nigers democracy would be a heavy blow to regional stability, Russias weaponisation of food reflects its cynical approach to the continent, Published since September 1843 to take part in a severe contest between intelligence, which presses forward, and an unworthy, timid ignorance obstructing our progress.. ECOWAS will meet only on Sunday to discuss how to respond. The government says it has no such designs. Imperialism C. Self-determination D. Democratization E. Supranationalism B. The civil war in Syria has strengthened it further. East Asia qualifies as a shatterbelt from 1945- 1976 because of U.S. occupation in the area after World War II and subsequent alliances with South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan, China's presence in the region, and Soviet ties with Mongolia and North Korea. At its southern end lies the Bab el-Mandeb strait, where nearly 9% . There is a "gravity hole" in the Indian Ocean a spot where Earth's gravitational pull is weaker, its mass is lower than normal, and the sea level dips by over 328 feet (100 meters). Losing Iraq to the Shia has been a significant irritant for the Sunni crescent, which hopes to balance the scales within the shatterbelt by encouraging a Sunni-dominated government in Damascus once Bashar al-Assad falls. Copyright The Economist Newspaper Limited 2023. "belt of broken rock, produced by horizontal movement in a more or less vertical plane". Ukraine Ukraine itself is a shatterbelt region because it's found itself trapped in a conflict between the West and the communist Soviet Union (now Russia). Heavy arms are being funnelled from Washington into the Emirates, even as light arms are being run both from Doha and Tehran into the Syrian theatre. It is often not positive. Last year some 10,000 people were killed in conflict across Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. Niger was the last solid Western ally in the region and hosts about 1,500 French soldiers helping to fight the jihadists. It was the only regional state to do so, forging a bond that has since served both states well. The gulf war and its aftermath are but one expression of Middle Eastern disequilibrium. The government, which includes religious and nationalist parties, announced an entire legislation package in January meant to overhaul the judiciary and some of its hard-line ministers want to proceed with more sweeping changes despite the protests. I consider my most important contribution to geopolitics to be the blending of world regional geography, political geography and international relations. Israel is facing a tempestuous summer. It revolutionised Israeli jurisprudence and is a principal source of the constitutional chaos engulfing Israel today. Under President Obama, the US has begun to pivot toward the South Pacific. The term came into widespread usage as a replacement of the term Near East (as opposed to the Far East) beginning in the early 20th century. Listen to this . The Middle East and Africa in particular, have been persistent Shatterbelts. Shatter belts are defined as strategically positioned areas which are characterized by a greater inclination towards internal division, which gives rise to a high number of conflicts, and at the same time are strategically important for the great powers. The foundation of the problem is the 2010 Arab Spring, covering Arab states with the wave of social upheavals aimed at diversifying economies, improving standards of living, and integration into the global economy. Editing by Andrew Cawthorne, Israeli protesters keep pressure on Netanyahu after judicial turmoil, Turkey urges Denmark to take urgent action to prevent Koran burnings, Mexican president says Israel's Netanyahu showed interest in missing students case, Biden says deal may be in offing with Saudi Arabia, provides no details, Senegal opposition leader Sonko charged with plotting insurrection, Colombia proposes 502.6 trillion pesos 2024 budget, Kenya's government and opposition agree to talks after protests, Biden says Brazils Lula wants to meet with him shortly on climate. However, today, another Middle East heart beats inside the shatterbelt, raising the pressure of conflict. These are topics of vital interest to conflict resolution. It would also give Israelis a much desired respite from one of their worst domestic crises in decades. If we keep our eye on the ball, we can already discern a new geostrategic map taking form. There is uproar in Israel over the passage of the law because many fear that this is just the first step down a slippery slope endangering democracy. What is more, to Russia, Syria is its near-abroad, and decades-long relations with the old Soviet Union built up a sizeable Russian community inside Syria. Egypt nationalized the canal in 1956. The increasingly painful waiting game is escalating global tension, and linking the Middle East into a single, multi-dimensional crisis.. After that, it seems to have been Burkina Faso rather than Niger that was unkeen to co-operate. Crimea, Global Rivalry, and the Vengeance of History, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015. With Middle East tension, the Suez Canal is a prime target for many nations. There is no evidence to suggest the hand of Wagner or Russia. In Burkina Faso and Mali the ruling soldiers have made it worse. With Damascus focused elsewhere, Syrian Kurdistan has gained a new autonomy, opening the way for its disaffected people to link up with their Iraqi Kurdish brethren. Tunisia represents the clearest case of success, while Libya has fallen into chaos, authoritarian forces have reasserted themselves in Egypt, and Syria has become an unending cauldron of violence and brutality. 1. He said Mr Bazoums approach to the jihadists had been a failure and complained of the presidents decision to free some jihadist fighters. The roman Empire unified the region to some extent. The demonstrators who believe their country is on a slippery slope to dictatorship are not going home. The bigger domestic change may have come in terms of the publics attitude towards war. Assads army is five times the size of Gaddafis, its opposition forces are deeply divided despite the agreement in Doha to paper over their differences, and its location deep inside the Levant makes establishing no-fly zones considerably more dangerous than in the open ranges of desert-bound Libya on shores much further west. Something along these lines did indeed happen in 2011, but only well after most in the region had concluded that the invasion of Iraq was a disastrous failure. According to many, the Western world is . They note civil servants like the attorney-general or ministry legal advisers could more easily be replaced with "yes-men". What originally brought Syria and Iran together was not the Shia sect, but Iraq the common enemy both hated and feared. It contains thousands of paper examples on a wide variety of topics, all donated by helpful students. Copyright 2023 Center for the National Interest All Rights Reserved, Every player of the popular video game Civilization, 5 ISIS Weapons of War America Should Fear, 5 Israeli Weapons of War ISIS Should Fear, 5 Russian Weapons of War NATO Should Fear, trend lines of relative power in East Asia. As for military co-operation with Burkina Faso, Mr Bazoum had several times given the go-ahead for joint actionsuntil the second coup there last September.
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