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91. Tatarstan: The Battle over Islam in Russia's Heartland

Author:
Ronan Keenan
Publication Date:
06-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
World Policy Journal
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
AZAN, Tatarstan—Shelves of vodka line a shop wall in Kazan, the capital of the Tatarstan republic. Just opposite, Islamic prayer beads sit in heaps on a rack. In this Russian-ruled region with a Muslim majority, bars and mosques exist side by side. A nearby store advertises clothing for Muslim women, and inside, Zulfia, one of the two female owners, helps customers with traditional headscarves and brightly colored skirts. Since she opened the store nine years ago, Zulfia says demand is increasing as women embrace Muslim traditions with a modern twist. Outside, the Kazan Kremlin, a citadel home to Tatarstan's president, stands elevated on the banks of the Kazanka River where its Islamic minarets and Orthodox domes overlook the city.
Political Geography:
Russia and Tatarstan

92. Fools' Gold

Author:
Jonathan Ewing
Publication Date:
06-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
World Policy Journal
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
KINSHASA, Congo—Joachim Andersson owned and operated a string of failed businesses before he founded Mineral Invest and began mining for gold in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. During the 1980s, Andersson worked as a pastry chef at an all-night café in a Stockholm suburb. It was the kind of place frequented by taxi drivers and prostitutes. Stolen goods were fenced in the café, and Andersson learned about precious metals. During the 1990s, he began dealing in minerals from Africa, and he was sentenced to five years in prison for tax evasion relating to importing gold.
Political Geography:
Africa and Democratic Republic of the Congo

93. Rethinking Ivory: Why Trade in Tusks Won't Go Away

Author:
John Frederick Walker
Publication Date:
06-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
World Policy Journal
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
TSAVO WEST, Kenya—Two years ago, in what was billed as a defiant message to elephant poachers, Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki arrived by helicopter at a dusty airstrip in Tsavo West National Park to set fire to five tons of seized contraband ivory.
Political Geography:
Kenya and Africa

94. Voices: Colombia's Path to Peace

Author:
Sibylla Brodzinsky
Publication Date:
06-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
World Policy Journal
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
BOGOTÁ—For much of the first half of 2012, Colombia hardly seemed on the path to peace. As they have done for the past half-century, leftist rebels ambushed soldiers, destroyed oil pipelines, set off bombs, and plotted against the government. Government forces, for their part, launched attacks on rebel camps, captured and killed guerrilla leaders, and welcomed deserters.
Political Geography:
Colombia and Cuba

95. Beyond Borders

Author:
David A. Andelman
Publication Date:
03-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
World Policy Journal
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
Civilization marks its beginnings to the moment, more than 14,000 years ago, humans first gathered into settlements, leaving behind their days as nomadic hunters and gatherers. Known as sedentarization, this phenomenon likely debuted in the Fertile Crescent of the Levant, followed by the Yangtze and Yellow River basins two millennia later, and eventually in Mexico, South America, and finally the eastern shores of the United States. At each point sprang up villages, cities, and eventually, nations. Over thousands of years, fixed boundaries were codified and defended, often at great cost. Many borders have been drawn wisely, following natural formations like barriers of mountains or rivers. Many follow linguistic, ethnic, religious, or tribal boundaries. But others have been haphazardly imposed by outsiders with the stroke of a pen on some distant map. As empires fell and the speed of global trade and migration increased, boundaries became complex barriers to the free movement of people and ideas. Today, some provoke violent wars and revolutions, while others can be breached by brave individuals and new technologies—issues that World Policy Journal explores in our spring cover theme.
Topic:
Demographics, Development, Nationalism, International Affairs, Border Control, and Urbanization
Political Geography:
United States, South America, and Mexico

96. The Big Question: How should borders be drawn?

Author:
Bonnie Glaser, Tsuneo Akaha, Aarthi Rao, Ruairi Nolan, Peter Taylor, Howard Eissenstat, Eun- Ju Kim, Anssi Paasi, Henk van Houtum, and Richard Schofield
Publication Date:
03-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
World Policy Journal
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
Boundaries define nations. Across Europe and Asia, through Africa and Latin America, old frontiers are being challenged. The primacy of the state is under increased scrutiny as the telecommunications revolution erases once impermeable divides. We have asked our panel of global experts how borders should be drawn on land, on sea, and in the blogosphere.
Topic:
Demographics, Science and Technology, International Affairs, Communications, and Border Control
Political Geography:
Africa, Europe, Asia, and Latin America

97. Faceoff: China/India

Author:
David A. Andelman
Publication Date:
01-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
World Policy Journal
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
For the better part of three millennia, China and India have developed independently, intersecting only at the rarest of moments across a divide of some of the world's most forbidding geography. Today, they rank as the world's first and second most populous nations, but with political, social, and economic systems that place them sharply at odds. A centrally planned and managed nation controlled by a single political party has seen an economic explosion of activity and growth north of the Himalayas; to the south, a vibrant, if often cacophonous, multi-party democracy has broken out of its long lethargy to assume a leadership role in technology and innovation.
Political Geography:
China and India

98. Map Room

Author:
Brahma Chellaney
Publication Date:
01-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
World Policy Journal
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
Asia faces a dilemma. The continent has the lowest global per capita freshwater resources, less than half the global annual average of 222,480 cubic feet per head. At the same time, Asia has the fastest growing demand for water in the world. Asia can in no sense remain the engine of global economic growth without addressing its water crisis.
Political Geography:
China and Asia

99. The Big Question: Which Country Will Emerge as the Leading Power?

Author:
Rory Medcalf, James Nolt, Yanzhong Huang, Arvind Gupta, Gisa Dang, Steven Lewis, and Sophia Ling
Publication Date:
01-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
World Policy Journal
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
Two of the world's giants—the first and second most populous nations—share a single continent, but vastly different visions of their region and the world. China and India each have a legitimate claim to hegemony, to leadership, and to a shared or competitive future. We asked our panel of global experts which nation would emerge as Asia's leading power in the future.
Political Geography:
China, India, and Asia

100. To Protect Cure

Publication Date:
06-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
World Policy Journal
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
For more than two millennia, physicians have been healing patients—pledging to protect and cure under the terms set forth by the oath Hippocrates crafted nearly 500 years before Christ.
Topic:
Economics
Political Geography:
Saudi Arabia