War and Peace
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Armed conflicts, and the efforts to reduce and resolve them, are also an important focus of
World Regional Geography. Six units in this theme explore the geography of war and peace in four different
regions of the world. There are several aspects of a geographical perspective on armed conflict around
the world. One is simply to recognize that a great deal of fighting occurs because of competing claims
to land, territory, and resources. Understanding the regional distribution of resources, for example,
or spatial patterns of ethnicity, religion, and race help clarify some of the issues underlying armed
conflicts. Another perspective would note how interactions among world regions can also cause or
contribute to armed conflicts. Likewise, such interactions can also be crucial for the promotion of
greater peace and stability throughout the world. The first unit explores that geographical nature
of the Arab-Israeli conflict (Chapter 6), exploring the role that territory and maps have played, in
the conflict as well as in efforts to resolve it. Another unit explores the war in Iraq (Chapter 6),
examining the war within the broader context of the Southwest Asian region. Moving farther east, we
examine the situation in Afghanistan (Chapter 8), exploring the varied political, cultural, and ethnic
landscapes of this complex region. Two units also examine the impacts of wars in Sub-Saharan Africa
(Chapter 7), focusing particularly on war refugees (also featured in "An Uprooted World"). Finally,
we go on a virtual tour of Hiroshima (Chapter 9) for an exploration of a "virtual sacred space." By
touring the on-line Hiroshima peace site, we learn both about the devastation wrought by nuclear
weapons and the ways in which places are made "sacred" through the practices, activities, and
build-landscapes of people living there. Hiroshima and Nagasaki are cities that have devoted themselves
to the cause of international peace and, as such, display a distinctive geography, much of which can be
experienced on-line through their virtual peace museums. The two cities also serve as hubs of an
international network of peace activism.
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