Students will explore the physical and human geographic factors affecting the origins and the local, regional, and supranational* consequences of conflict and cooperation between and among groups of people.
Recognize that conflict and cooperation among groups of people occur for a variety of reasons including nationalist**, racial, ethnic, religious, economic, and resource concerns that generally involve agreements and disagreements related to territory on earth’s surface. [Spatial Interaction, Spatial Variation, National Character, Human Environment Interactions, Sense of Place]
EXAMPLES: Turkey and Iraq conflict/cooperation related to the headwaters of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers (1900–Present); U.S. and Canada conflict and cooperation related to salmon in the Straits of Georgia and Juan de Fuca (1950–Present); conflict within the country of Sudan between Arabic peoples in the north and black Africans in the south (1950–Present)
Analyze the physical and human factors involved in conflicts and violence related to nationalist, racial, ethnic, religious, economic, and/or resource issues in various parts of the world, over time. Assess the human and physical environmental consequences of the conflicts identified for study. Propose solutions to conflicts that are still ongoing. [Change Over Time, Spatial Interaction, Human Environment Interactions, Sense of Place]
EXAMPLES: Indian Sub-continent – British vs. Muslims vs. Hindus (1800–Present); Northern Ireland – Protestant vs. Catholic (1900s); Southwest Asia – Iran vs. Iraqi: Shiites vs. Sunnis; Israelis vs. Arab, Israelis vs. Palestinians (1900s–Present); Africa – tribal conflict: Rwanda, Nigeria, and Sudan (1900s–Present); the creation of new nations from the former Austro-Hungarian and Russian Empires (1914–Present)
Europe – World War II and the Holocaust (1935–1945)
Analyze and explain why some countries achieved independence peacefully through legal means and others achieved independence as a consequence of armed struggles or wars. [Spatial Organization, Change Over Time, Spatial Interaction]
EXAMPLES: Compare and contrast Czech Republic and Slovakia to former Yugoslavia (1900s); compare and contrast Ghana under Nkrumah, and Kenya under Kenyatta (1950–70s); Gandhi’s (India) nonviolent approach to independence compared to Algerian violent movement for independence from France (1950s) or to the Bolshevik’s (Russia) approach to independence from absolutism (1900s); compare and contrast the independence movements by colonial Australia and South Africa (1900s)
Prepare maps, timelines, and/or other graphic representations to trace the development and geographic extent of a variety of regional and global cooperative organizations for different time periods. Describe why each was established. Assess their success or lack of success, consequences for citizens, and the role of particular countries in achieving the goals the organizations were established to accomplish. [Origins, Spatial Interaction, Change Over Time, Spatial Organization, Spatial Distribution]
EXAMPLES: League of Nations, NATO, UN, NAFTA, WTO, WHO, EU, Triple Entante, Quintuple Alliance, FTAA
* Supranational—A venture involving three or more states—political, economic, and/or cultural cooperation to promote shared objectives.
** Nationalist—Devotion to the interests or culture of a particular nation including promoting the interests of one country over those of others.