Chapter 24: Regional Identities and the Twenty-First CenturyEurope

YugoslaviaNationalism promotes disintegration in Europe

Unified by Marshall Tito after WWII

Serbia opposes breakup of Yugoslavia and engages in war and “ethnic cleansing”

US/UN intervention to end conflict

War Crimes Tribunal created to try Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic and others

Africa

South AfricaFirst Europeans (Dutch) arrive in 1652

British take control around 1800

British-Dutch conflict in Boer War

British maintain harsh Dutch policies toward black South Africans

• 1913 Native Land Acts restrict Africans to 13% of land

• 1948 Apartheid established

Africa

South Africa [cont.]African National Congress (1913)

Europeans urge racial liberalization (1950s)

ANC pursues strikes & protests (1960s)

Government cracks down & jails leaders including Nelson Mandela (1964)

By 1980s South Africa is last holdout in drive toward racial justice

Africa

South Africa [cont.]South Africa a regional economic power

Sanctions worked over time despite strong economy

Ban against ANC lifted in 1990 by de Klerk; Mandela released from prison

Truth & Reconciliation Commission created to heal wounds of 30 years of conflict

Africa

Rwanda & CongoHutu-Tutsi mutual genocide harmed both states

• Enmity and comity have alternated over time• Hutus were originally farmers & Tutsis, herdsmen

in a society that values possession of cattle• Tutsi pre-eminence prior to colonization was

reinforced by colonial powers• Hutu majority claims right to lead Rwanda• Conflict from onset of independence (1962)

Africa

Rwanda & Congo [cont.]Self-exiled Tutsis invade from Uganda; genocide follows

Warfare extends into neighboring Congo

Congo a weakened nation with dying leader

Conflicts continue with political power and natural resource wealth the core issues

Outsiders support whichever group will likely provide access to natural resources

Latin America

Population growth in urban areas only

Rural oriented caudillo rule not suited to new conditions

Military rule replaced with democracy after 1970s

Illegal drug trade important in some states

Latin America

MexicoRevolution from 1910 brought stable government, some commitment to improving life of the poor and for unifying nation under leadership of PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party)

Mexican economy tied to oil prices

Mexico signs NAFTA agreement in 1994

Latin America

Mexico [cont.]Economic instability after NAFTA required IMF intervention

Revolt in Chiapas state undercuts claims of evolving cultural unity

Cultural change: Day of the Dead commemorations replaced with Trick or Treat

PRI control ended by election of Vicente Fox

Latin America

BrazilEconomic inequality more severe than in any other major countryCultural traditions preserved in soccer & sambaClimate of violence in citiesMilitary dictatorship to 1988Election of “Lula” in 2002 did not live up to promise of change. Continued reliance on IMF

China and India

China after Mao: An Era of ReformDeng Xiaoping pursues economic liberalism under Communist Party control

• Sell off state businesses to private investors• “Small family happiness”

Jiang Zemin to power on death of Deng• China enters World Trade Organization (2001)

China and India

China After Mao [cont.]Problems amidst aura of success

• Distribution of wealth a problem• “Floating population” without work permits• Environmental degradation• Governmental corruption

Pride in four modernizations--a) agriculture; b) science & technology; c) industry; d) defense

China and India

China after Mao [cont.]Fifth modernization--democracy--not achieved

• Tienanmen Square

• Falun Gong

Public health challenge in SARS health epidemic in 2002

Accepts NGOs as long as they don’t threaten government

China and India

China after Mao [cont.]Dramatic turnabouts in international relations

• Growing economy put China on road to regional economic domination

• Resentment toward China still widely present• Friendship emerges with USSR• Warming relations with US• Extensive participation in global cultural trends

China and India

India after Congress DominanceThe Mandel Commission

• “Untouchables” remain an abiding challenge– Got reserved slots in government from 1935

• “Other backward Classes” (52% of population) also at issue

– Commission recommends reservation of slots– Upper castes less successful in elections in N. India– Emerging flexibility in caste relations

• Influence of women increasing

China and India

India after Congress Dominance [cont.]Markets, the IMF & Capitalist Economics

• Upper castes have entered business to offset loss of political influence

• India accepts “Washington consensus” of IMF• Capitalism remains largely outside cultural values• Information technology a leading sector • Government policies a drag on business with its

policies and corruption; “pro-poor” ideas on rise

Israel and Palestine: Jews and Arabs

Competing religious identities an important issue as Jews return in late 19th centuryPolitics even more important as returnees are imbued with nationalism and the desire to create a state (Zionism)Palestine under British control--leads to colonial issues as British “divide & rule” the area

Israel and Palestine: Jews and Arabs

20th century “pioneers” settle in kibbutzim

Holocaust propels development of Israel

Israel a state in 1948

Arab-Israeli conflict begins when other Arab states refuse to absorb Palestinian refugees and settle them in camps

Era of wars ends with Camp David agreement between Sadat & Begin

Israel and Palestine: Jews and Arabs

Global implications of Arab-Israeli conflict tied to politics of oil

End of Soviet Union enhanced prospects for peace

Palestinian Authority signs Oslo Accords (1993)

Israel and Palestine: Jews and Arabs

Hopes of peace were short lived as Jewish extremist assassinates prime minister Rabin

Leadership on both sides has become more militant as Arab intifada and Jewish attempt to occupy new areas of Palestine emerge