Political geography is the internal and external relationships between a continent’s various governments,
citizens, and territories. Asian governments and citizens have created
and responded to political and social change in ways that have
profoundly affected these relationships at both the local and
international level. As the continent continues to increase its
political and economic prominence, its policy decisions will hold
greater weight for the global community.
Historic Issues
One of the oldest and most intensely debated political disputes continues to be negotiated in the Levant, an area in the eastern Mediterranean. The Levant, part of the Middle East, has been continuously occupied for thousands of years by the historic cultures of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Israel.
The Levant is sometimes called “The Holy Land.” This small region is spiritually important to followers of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faiths. These are the three most populous and influential monotheistic religions in the world. All three faiths trace their origins to the Jewish patriarch Abraham. For this reason, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are known as the “Abrahamic religions.”
The religious conflict between Abrahamic religions in the Levant has endured for thousands of years. Christian leaders persecuted Jews in the region during the late Roman Empire. During the Middle Ages, European Christians sent soldiers on crusades to conquer and convert the Levant’s Muslim majority.
The most recent conflict in the Levant is between Israel and neighboring nations. Israel, the only Jewish-majority nation in the world, was established in 1948. Prior to 1948, the area was a British colony called Palestine. Many non-Jewish natives identify as Palestinians. Neighboring states—including Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt—accepted Palestinian immigrants and rejected the new Israeli government.
Major wars plague the region, including the Arab-Israeli War (1948), the Suez Crisis (1956), the Six Day War (1967), and the Yom Kippur War (1973). Smaller conflicts, including incidents of terrorism, are associated with Palestinian uprisings, or intifadas. The First Intifada, which included nonviolent protests as well as armed assaults, took place in the late 1980s. The Second Intifada took place between 2000 and 2005.
The conflict in the Levant has resulted in Israel creating two “Palestinian Territories” (the West Bank and Gaza) within its boundaries. Treaties, such as the Camp David Accords (which established a lasting peace treaty between Egypt and Israel) have attempted to negotiate a lasting peace in the Levant.
The colonization of Southeast Asia is another example of how historic political geography can influence an entire region. Colonialism is foreign political rule imposed on a people. Chinese, Japanese, and European colonization of Southeast Asia lasted for more than 1,000 years. China, for instance, was the ruling power in Vietnam from about 110 BCE to 900 CE.
Colonial powers from Europe, the United States, and Japan imposed their rule on Southeast Asian peoples from the 1500s to the mid-1940s. While these powers had distinct motives, they were generally looking to expand their territory, increase trade, import cheap raw materials, and impose their cultural practices.
The Dutch and British established extremely powerful companies that oversaw trade and labor in their respective colonies. The Dutch East India Company, based in Indonesia, had the power to print its own money and engage in war. They enforced harsh labor practices on local peoples, who worked to collect lucrative spices and extract precious metals. These resources were then sold in Europe.
Spanish and Portuguese colonists spread the Roman Catholic faith by converting indigenous peoples, especially in the Philippines. The French used their military to maintain control of their colonies, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people.
The countries of Southeast Asia are now independent. However, their economies, politics, and culture still maintain aspects of the colonial period. For instance, the Vietnamese language is written with the Roman alphabet, not the glyphs, ideograms, or indigenous alphabets of neighboring Asian nations. This is because the written Vietnamese language was established by the French, who use a Roman alphabet.
As with the colonial period, Asia was deeply affected by World War II and its aftermath. Japan was the most devastated Asian country in terms of loss of life and physical destruction. However, it also experienced a record period of economic growth after the war. Investment from the United States and innovative economic restructuring by the Japanese government stimulated this growth.
Japan’s Ministry of International Trade and Industry coordinated partnerships, known as keiretsu, between manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, and banks in order to streamline industry. The ministry also created a strong export economy, focusing on technology industries that still define Japan’s global image. Capital was invested in Japan’s infrastructure, especially in efficient transportation systems, communications, and technology. Japan’s intense public and private investment increased its gross domestic product (GDP) from $91 billion in 1965 to more than $1 trillion in 1980.
Current Issues
India’s and China’s economic growth has been profound in the last 20 years. Both countries have removed government controls, increased foreign trade, and built strong export-based economies. This economic growth has had both positive and negative effects.
China has the world’s fastest-growing economy, increasing 10 percent annually for the past 30 years. This is largely because China is the world’s largest manufacturer and exporter of goods. As a result of this growth, wages have increased rapidly, giving Chinese workers a better standard of living. More Chinese people have access to excellent health care, electricity, and education. China has a strong presence in international politics and influences important debates, such as those surrounding terrorism and climate change. China has used its newfound wealth to invest around the world. China has invested billions of dollars in Nigeria, for instance, to extract oil. Predicted to be the world’s largest economy in the coming decades, China’s economic decisions will greatly affect how and where future development occurs around the globe.
But China’s rapid growth has caused a number of social, environmental, and economic problems. Rapid industrial growth in the cities has impoverished rural workers, who must migrate to congested urban areas to find jobs. Industrial activity has put stress on the country’s energy and transportation systems and degraded air, water, and soil quality. Industrial growth also has major implications for global climate change, as China is the world’s largest producer of carbon dioxide emissions.
India’s growth has been drastically different from China’s. India is a democracy, while China is a totalitarian state. This means that social and political reforms are debated more openly in India, and change is often more difficult because power resides in coalitions instead of one political party.
Unlike China, India’s growth is largely a result of its rapidly growing service industry—not its manufacturing sector. In particular, India has become a major exporter of information technology services. Its telecommunications industry, which focuses on phone and Internet services, added more than 200 million subscribers in 2010. The country also hosts seven of the world’s top technology outsourcing companies, which rely heavily on India’s highly educated, English-speaking population.
India’s growth has caused hourly wages to double during the past decade, bringing more than 430 million Indians out of poverty and creating an immense middle-class population. Much like China, India’s urban infrastructure and global influence have also improved.
Despite this economic growth, India remains socioeconomically divided. India still has the world’s largest concentration of people living in extreme poverty—below $1.25 per day. The difference in revenue between India’s more industrialized states and its poorer agricultural states has widened substantially. Much like China, India’s urban infrastructure, education, and health systems are having difficulty adjusting to the large number of poor, rural migrants moving into cities.
In Asia’s Arab region, conservative governments are under pressure from their citizens and the international community to enable political, economic, and social reform. While authoritarian rulers control the majority of these countries, their citizens broadly support democracy. In the so-called “Arab Spring” of 2011, social and political groups across the region staged armed protests calling for democratic reform. Governments have responded to these protests with both military force and political compromise. Syria and Jordan exemplify this political change in Arab Asia.
Protesters in Syria called for the legalization of political parties, the removal of corrupt officials, and the repeal of Emergency Law, which allows arrests without charge. In response to the protests, the Syrian government launched military campaigns to repress protesters. These campaigns have killed more than 450 people. Hundreds of Syrians have been jailed. The international community has responded by placing economic and political sanctions on the Syrian government.
Jordanians have staged weekly protests against corruption, rising prices, poverty, and unemployment. King Abdullah has responded to these protests by replacing his prime minister and forming the National Dialogue Committee. Made up of both government officials and opposition leaders, the committee is in charge of drafting reforms, including new laws for elections and political parties.
Historic Issues
One of the oldest and most intensely debated political disputes continues to be negotiated in the Levant, an area in the eastern Mediterranean. The Levant, part of the Middle East, has been continuously occupied for thousands of years by the historic cultures of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Israel.
The Levant is sometimes called “The Holy Land.” This small region is spiritually important to followers of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faiths. These are the three most populous and influential monotheistic religions in the world. All three faiths trace their origins to the Jewish patriarch Abraham. For this reason, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are known as the “Abrahamic religions.”
The religious conflict between Abrahamic religions in the Levant has endured for thousands of years. Christian leaders persecuted Jews in the region during the late Roman Empire. During the Middle Ages, European Christians sent soldiers on crusades to conquer and convert the Levant’s Muslim majority.
The most recent conflict in the Levant is between Israel and neighboring nations. Israel, the only Jewish-majority nation in the world, was established in 1948. Prior to 1948, the area was a British colony called Palestine. Many non-Jewish natives identify as Palestinians. Neighboring states—including Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt—accepted Palestinian immigrants and rejected the new Israeli government.
Major wars plague the region, including the Arab-Israeli War (1948), the Suez Crisis (1956), the Six Day War (1967), and the Yom Kippur War (1973). Smaller conflicts, including incidents of terrorism, are associated with Palestinian uprisings, or intifadas. The First Intifada, which included nonviolent protests as well as armed assaults, took place in the late 1980s. The Second Intifada took place between 2000 and 2005.
The conflict in the Levant has resulted in Israel creating two “Palestinian Territories” (the West Bank and Gaza) within its boundaries. Treaties, such as the Camp David Accords (which established a lasting peace treaty between Egypt and Israel) have attempted to negotiate a lasting peace in the Levant.
The colonization of Southeast Asia is another example of how historic political geography can influence an entire region. Colonialism is foreign political rule imposed on a people. Chinese, Japanese, and European colonization of Southeast Asia lasted for more than 1,000 years. China, for instance, was the ruling power in Vietnam from about 110 BCE to 900 CE.
Colonial powers from Europe, the United States, and Japan imposed their rule on Southeast Asian peoples from the 1500s to the mid-1940s. While these powers had distinct motives, they were generally looking to expand their territory, increase trade, import cheap raw materials, and impose their cultural practices.
The Dutch and British established extremely powerful companies that oversaw trade and labor in their respective colonies. The Dutch East India Company, based in Indonesia, had the power to print its own money and engage in war. They enforced harsh labor practices on local peoples, who worked to collect lucrative spices and extract precious metals. These resources were then sold in Europe.
Spanish and Portuguese colonists spread the Roman Catholic faith by converting indigenous peoples, especially in the Philippines. The French used their military to maintain control of their colonies, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people.
The countries of Southeast Asia are now independent. However, their economies, politics, and culture still maintain aspects of the colonial period. For instance, the Vietnamese language is written with the Roman alphabet, not the glyphs, ideograms, or indigenous alphabets of neighboring Asian nations. This is because the written Vietnamese language was established by the French, who use a Roman alphabet.
As with the colonial period, Asia was deeply affected by World War II and its aftermath. Japan was the most devastated Asian country in terms of loss of life and physical destruction. However, it also experienced a record period of economic growth after the war. Investment from the United States and innovative economic restructuring by the Japanese government stimulated this growth.
Japan’s Ministry of International Trade and Industry coordinated partnerships, known as keiretsu, between manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, and banks in order to streamline industry. The ministry also created a strong export economy, focusing on technology industries that still define Japan’s global image. Capital was invested in Japan’s infrastructure, especially in efficient transportation systems, communications, and technology. Japan’s intense public and private investment increased its gross domestic product (GDP) from $91 billion in 1965 to more than $1 trillion in 1980.
Current Issues
India’s and China’s economic growth has been profound in the last 20 years. Both countries have removed government controls, increased foreign trade, and built strong export-based economies. This economic growth has had both positive and negative effects.
China has the world’s fastest-growing economy, increasing 10 percent annually for the past 30 years. This is largely because China is the world’s largest manufacturer and exporter of goods. As a result of this growth, wages have increased rapidly, giving Chinese workers a better standard of living. More Chinese people have access to excellent health care, electricity, and education. China has a strong presence in international politics and influences important debates, such as those surrounding terrorism and climate change. China has used its newfound wealth to invest around the world. China has invested billions of dollars in Nigeria, for instance, to extract oil. Predicted to be the world’s largest economy in the coming decades, China’s economic decisions will greatly affect how and where future development occurs around the globe.
But China’s rapid growth has caused a number of social, environmental, and economic problems. Rapid industrial growth in the cities has impoverished rural workers, who must migrate to congested urban areas to find jobs. Industrial activity has put stress on the country’s energy and transportation systems and degraded air, water, and soil quality. Industrial growth also has major implications for global climate change, as China is the world’s largest producer of carbon dioxide emissions.
India’s growth has been drastically different from China’s. India is a democracy, while China is a totalitarian state. This means that social and political reforms are debated more openly in India, and change is often more difficult because power resides in coalitions instead of one political party.
Unlike China, India’s growth is largely a result of its rapidly growing service industry—not its manufacturing sector. In particular, India has become a major exporter of information technology services. Its telecommunications industry, which focuses on phone and Internet services, added more than 200 million subscribers in 2010. The country also hosts seven of the world’s top technology outsourcing companies, which rely heavily on India’s highly educated, English-speaking population.
India’s growth has caused hourly wages to double during the past decade, bringing more than 430 million Indians out of poverty and creating an immense middle-class population. Much like China, India’s urban infrastructure and global influence have also improved.
Despite this economic growth, India remains socioeconomically divided. India still has the world’s largest concentration of people living in extreme poverty—below $1.25 per day. The difference in revenue between India’s more industrialized states and its poorer agricultural states has widened substantially. Much like China, India’s urban infrastructure, education, and health systems are having difficulty adjusting to the large number of poor, rural migrants moving into cities.
In Asia’s Arab region, conservative governments are under pressure from their citizens and the international community to enable political, economic, and social reform. While authoritarian rulers control the majority of these countries, their citizens broadly support democracy. In the so-called “Arab Spring” of 2011, social and political groups across the region staged armed protests calling for democratic reform. Governments have responded to these protests with both military force and political compromise. Syria and Jordan exemplify this political change in Arab Asia.
Protesters in Syria called for the legalization of political parties, the removal of corrupt officials, and the repeal of Emergency Law, which allows arrests without charge. In response to the protests, the Syrian government launched military campaigns to repress protesters. These campaigns have killed more than 450 people. Hundreds of Syrians have been jailed. The international community has responded by placing economic and political sanctions on the Syrian government.
Jordanians have staged weekly protests against corruption, rising prices, poverty, and unemployment. King Abdullah has responded to these protests by replacing his prime minister and forming the National Dialogue Committee. Made up of both government officials and opposition leaders, the committee is in charge of drafting reforms, including new laws for elections and political parties.
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