Ownership of resources in some areas is what? What does this lead to?
Ownership of resources is disputed.
This can lead to disagreements over the exploitation of resources and ultimately conflict.
What is the area within the Arctic Circle mostly? What does this mean?
The area within the Arctic Circle is mostly ocean.
This means there is no international treaty to protect the environment
What is a sphere of influence?
A region over which a group or institution has power, which is seperate from whoever is traditionally in control.
The country has no legal or formal authority in the area.
What are some sources of conflict?
Economic
International Property Rights
Territory
Access to trade/transport
Natural resources
Politics
What is UNCLOS?
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
- Adopted in 1982
- Lays down a comprehensive regime of law and order in the world’s oceans and seas, establishing rules governing all uses of the oceans and their resources
What are Intellectual Property Rights?
The rights people or companies have over their creations and fall into two categories:
Industrial Property
Copyright
What is industrial property?
inventions, trademarks, industrial designs, geographical indications of origin
What is copyright?
literary and artistic works, radio and television programmes, performances
Why is the protection of new inventions important?
Without it:
- Companies and countries wouldn’t spend money on research and development if it was simply going to benefit other companies/countries
- It would reduce trade as companies would not want to share new inventions with other countries, as it would risk the idea being stolen.
What are the two main areas of industrial property rights?
Protection of distinctive features such as trademarks and also geographical location
- E.g champagne can only be produced in a specific region in france
Protection of inventions (using patents), industrial designs and trade secrets
- E.g the recipe of coca-cola
What can contesting spheres of influence lead to?
Tensions and conflict has countries compete to have control over land and/or resources
How have the USA and EU been accused of having unfair relationships with developing nations?
Neo-colonialism
- Superpowers pull economic and political strings even though they don’t directly rule and control developing nations
Unfair terms of trade
- Cheap commodity exports from developing nations but expensive imports from developed world
Brain drain
- Hinders growth of developing countries’ economies
Describe the shifting centre of economic gravity:
- Slowly shifting from the West to the East
- Asian states are becoming influential players in the global economy, whilst the role of the EU and USA is slowly diminishing
Give some examples of tension and conflict in the Middle East:
Contesting alliances
Invasion and occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan
Refugee crisis
Israeli genocide of Palestinians
Describe contesting alliances in the Middle East:
Alliance between the West with Israel, and Arab monarchies whilst an opposing alliance has been formed between Iran, Syria, Russia and China.
(2026 Iran war- USA and Israel vs Iran and Hezbollah)
The Israelis are provided with billions in aid and equipment from the USA and Europe whilst Russia backs the Iranian and Syrian regimes
Describe invasion and occupation in the Middle East:
Iraq (2003-2011)
Afghanistan (2001-2010)
- Us-led and (officially) aimed to remove Hussain and the Taliban, create stable governments and remove weapons of mass destruction
However, suspicions of aims to protect oil sources has created mistrust in British and US governments
Describe refugee crisis in the Middle East:
Created due to conflict between the different factions within Syria and Iraq
It forced over 6million Syrian refugees and 2 million Iraqis to flee to Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon
Why is there so much conflict in the Middle East?
Religion- Sunni and Shia countries fighting each other and in proxy wars
Oil and gas
History- colonial powers drew up borders in area which caused a lot of conflict
Economic challenges for the EU + UK:
- €9.7 trillion Eurozone debt in 2016
- £1.6 trillion for the UK
- Youth unemployment rate of 14% in the EU in 2025- burden for taxpayers (but reduced from previous years!)
- Uk youth unemployment: 16%
Demographic challenges for the EU + UK?
- Aging EU population- over 1/5 of EU citizens are over 65
- Likely to be an overall decline in population after 2035 due to low birth rates
Political challenges for EU + UK?
- 27 EU nations don’t always agree on issues
- Immigration has become a very big political and divisive issue
Resource challenges for EU + UK?
- Need to reduce carbon emissions
- Increased energy cost due to Russia conflict: potential energy insecurity
Economic challenges for the USA?
- $38 trillion national debt
- $1.4 trillion spent on military
Demographic challenges for the USA?
Projected to grow slowly from 349 million in 2026 to 364 million by 2056
- Could lead to pressures on services and infrastructure
