Section C - Migration, Identity, and Sovereignty - EQ2 - How are Nation States Defined and how have they Evolved in a Globalising World?

Question 1

Iceland - How does Iceland keep its strong national characteristics?

Answer 1

• Iceland sits in the mid-Atlantic Ocean, hundreds of kilometres away from its nearest neighbour Greenland
• Its national characteristics result from its geographical location, landscape, dependence on the sea, and isolation
• Iceland’s laws and society fiercely protect its cultural and national heritage:
• All children’s names must come from an approved list to preserve the traditional language
• The national phone book lists subscribers by their first name because this was the more commonly used since Viking times
• 74% of Icelanders belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland

Question 2

Singapore - Pop, independence when, immigration

Answer 2

• Singapore has a pop of 5.5 million and was first established in 1814
• Singapore’s subsequent growth was largely due to immigration – particularly from China but also from India and Malaysia
• Singapore became independent in 1965
• Its pop today reflects its multiculturalism both today and in the past – 74% are Chinese, 13% Malaysian, and 9% Indian
• This small country has a vibrant mix of languages, cultures, religions, festivals, and food

Question 3

National borders - What is a national border?

Answer 3

These consist of physical features that once created natural obstacles such as rivers, lakes, or mountains

Question 4

National borders - Colonial history and political intervention - When was the Berlin Conference and what did this lead to across Africa?

Answer 4

• 14 countries met at the Berlin conference from 1884-85 to discuss and divide up the continent of Africa
• By the end of the conference, Africa had been divided up into 50 separate countries along geometric boundaries (straight lines) – and had been turned into colonies by the European powers
• These new countries were superimposed onto the indigenous regions of Africa, with no account taken of tribal or linguistic boundaries
• Neither the conference, nor any future meeting, gave Africans a say over the borders that divided their homeland

Question 5

Conflict - Rwanda - Status pre Berlin Conference, series of colonial rule, independence, genocide

Answer 5

• Pre Berlin Conference, Rwanda had been a unified region homes to Tutsis and Hutus, who lived in vague harmony
• However, following the Berlin Conference, Germany established colonial rule over the country, which Belgium then took over after Germany’s defeat in WW1
• The Belgians favoured the Tutsi minority (14%) with privileges over the Hutu majority (85%) and even introduced ID cards that differentiated between the two
• The independence of Rwanda in 1962 led to fighting between the Tutsis and Hutus over which group was legitimate to govern
• Things ultimately came to a head in 1994, where a genocide of 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus took place following a plane crashed that killed the Presidents of Rwanda and Burundi

Question 6

Conflict - Russia and Ukraine - Russia’s claim on Ukraine and the Crimea, events in 2014, events in 2022

Answer 6

• Since the days of Communist rule, Russia has seen Ukraine and the Crimea as belonging to it
• Its pop is varied, 58% are ethnic Russian and 24% are ethnic Ukrainian
• In 2014, Ukraine’s pro-Russia Pres was driven from power by a Western favouring gov that favoured Ukrainian membership of NATO and the EU
• Russia was intimidated by this and seized the Crimea in 2014, at which point its Russian-speaking majority voted to join Russia in a snap referendum considered illegal and illegitimate by the West
• In 2022, Russia launched a full scale invasion of Ukraine in a conflict which has yet to be resolved

Question 7

Conflict - Taiwan and China - History, Chinese claims, recent developments, likelihood of developing further

Answer 7

• Following the Chinese Civil War that ended in 1949, the nationalists fled communist rule by retreating over the sea to Taiwan
• China claims sovereignty over the island nation, but this is challenged by the West
• Again, this has been a conflict that has heated up recently, with Chinese military drills over Taiwan putting the West on alert as to a possible invasion

Question 8

Nationalism in Europe - 16th century, what happened in the 19th and 20th centuries, evidence of this today?

Answer 8

• In the 16th century, territories were often defined by religion, family dynasties, or alliances, the rulers of which were considered to be absolute - possessing power over all with no democracy
• By the end of the 19th century, most od the European states had emerged in one way or another – only to create closer economic and political ties in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, which has increasingly diluted the importance of national borders in Europe
• EG in 2023, 27 EU member states share formal political, legal, and economic ties, with its pops considering themselves European first and their national identify second

Question 9

Nationalism in Europe - What is nationalism based on, what happened in France with the revolution, Napoleon, and the Franco-Prussian War?

Answer 9

• Nationalism is based on people’s identification with a ‘nation’ – in the belief that they share commonality with that nation in terms of language, identity, history, and customs that bind them together
• The French Revolution helped to establish nationalism in France by removing the French monarchy and placing power in the hands of the citizens
• However, many saw French nationalism as a threat, especially with the rise of Napoleon, emperor of France by 1804
• His belief in the expansion of French nationalism and his military victories made him a threat, eventually going to war with Prussia in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71
• The Prussians won this conflict which boosted German nationalism and reduced French influence in Europe

Question 10

Nationalism in Europe - What happened in the build up to and after WW1, and was there still conflict?

Answer 10

• By now, many different languages, ethnicities, and customs had sprung up all over Europe, and revised borders were drawn up after WW1
• There were still conflicts over nations esp during WW2 when Hitler invaded countries such as Poland and Belgium

Question 11

Empires and their consequences - Colonial status in South America, Asia, and Africa by 1900

Answer 11

By 1900, most of Central and South America had won independence from Spain and Portugal, but most of Africa and Asia was still controlled by various European powers

Question 12

Empires and their consequences - East India Company and what it led to, what happened post WW1, when did India gain independence, and what happened then?

Answer 12

• Trade with, and political influence over, a large part of India by the British East India Company eventually led to direct British rule over most of India
• Wealth and power from its growing empire meant that Britain overtook France and Spain as a superpower, creating international rivalries
• After WW1, India was promised some form of self-governance, and calls for independence grew up until WW2
• After WW2, India was offered complete independence in 1946, and in 1947 it was agreed that India would be partitioned to create East and West Pakistan and India
• When more and more colonial powers gave up their rule, it was clear that new states were going to emerge

Question 13

The costs of disintegrating empires - Vietnam - What was Vietnam previously known as and what was its purpose, how was land divided, what happened by 1945, what happened in the 60s, death stats for the conflict, when did an independent united Vietnam emerge?

Answer 13

• By 1850, most of Southeast Asia had been colonised by European powers, with the modern countries of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos being known as French Indochina where land was converted to plantations to produce rubber
• In French Indochina, society was divided into those with land and those without with the landless often lacking food, healthcare, and education
• After 1945, Vietnamese nationalists increasingly challenged French rule, and nationalist leader Ho Chi Minh was able to ‘reclaim’ Vietnam from France in 1954
• By then, other colonised Asian states had already gained independence and the USA was worried about the rise in Communism, so Vietnam was divided along the 17th parallel into North and South
• The 1960s then saw the Vietnam War between the Communists Chinese backed North and the Capitalist American backed South
• 1.4 million Vietnemese and roughly 350,000 people from other nations were killed
• The South was defeated in 1975 and an independent, united Vietnam emerged

Question 14

South Sudan - What happened at the Berlin Conference to Sudan, what happened in the North and the South and what did this lead to, what is going on today?

Answer 14

• At the Berlin Conference, Sudan was divided into North and South based on ethnic characteristics
• Britain and Egypt modernised the Arab North, while the mainly black African south remained tribal communities
• This created resentment between the North and South, which led to Civil War throughout its history, and ongoing tensions today
• Tens of thousands have been forced to leave and food supplies have been cut off, with the UN declaring a major famine affecting over 1 million people in the area

Question 15

Colonisation as a cause of migration - Post WW2 migration into the UK, which generation first and where from, who followed to do what, why did LDN attract workers, examples of diasporas?

Answer 15

• The years after WW2 saw a massive increase in Labour migration, with Commonwealth citizens being granted the right to British citizenship in 1948
• This allowed UK employers to recruit people from places like India and Jamaica in order to fill gaps in the employment market – the Windrush generation
• Migrants from India and Pakistan soon followed, with well-qualified (doctors and nurses) joined by less well qualified attracted to opportunities in older manufacturing sectors such as textile mills EG in Lancashire or Yorkshire
• London also tended to attract migrants due to wider availability of work and housing
• These communities eventually stick, creating various diasporas such as Sikh in Southall and Bangladeshi migrants in Brick Lane and Tower Hamlets

Question 16

Emergence of new states - The Cayman Islands - Pop and nationalities of the Cayman Islands, % of GDP and % of employment created by financial services, ranking of GDP per capita, corporation and personal income tax rate, amount help from companies and bankers

Answer 16

• As companies seek to make money, it is natural that they want to set up businesses where there is low corporation tax, with govs making this a deliberate policy to attract businesses
• An example of this is the Cayman Islands, which has a combined pop of 68,000, with over 100 different nationalities
• Financial services generate 55% of the island’s GDP and employ 36% of its pop, and it has the world’s 12th largest GDP per capita at $91,000
• The Cayman Island’s 0% personal income tax rate and low corporation tax rate means it holds over $1.5 trillion is assets from companies and bankers
• Other countries such as Ireland have also been criticised by the EU and the USA for its friendly treatment of TNCs such as Google, Apple, and Facebook – Irish corporation tax rates are among the world’s lowest at 12.5%

Question 17

Alternative pathways - What’s going on in Bolivia, what are its policies, what % of profits on oil and gas does the gov take and difference from TNCs previously, % rises in gas connections electricity and telecoms, other impacts?

Answer 17

• Not all countries support the process of globalisation, with some South American bucking the trend in order to pursue social justice
• One of these is Bolivia, with one of the fastest growing economies in the world
• Its policies include nationalising resources, with the profits going to the gov rather than private shareholders
• Redistributing wealth to the peasants by guaranteeing prices for food
• Bolivia’s gov takes 80% of the profits made off of Bolivia’s oil and gas, whereas TNC’s used to take 82%
• This has led to an 800% rise in gas connections, 150% electricity rise, and 300% telecommunications rise
• Improved healthcare, education enrolment, pensions, and income
• Reduced wealth inequalities and lower gov debt