World Regional Geography Exam Questions free essay sample

Why do some scholars believe that China may become the next global superpower? Do you agree? Why or why not? Include specific facts regarding China to support your view. Why China will become a Superpower o China’s government exported $762 B worth of goods in 2005 – an increase of 28% from the past year o China imported $660 B worth of goods in 2005 – and increase of 18% from the past year o Total foreign trade in 2005 was $1. M – this makes China the third-highest ranking country, preceded by only the United States and Germany – precedes Japan now; this is the first time that China has grossed more than Japan. A decade ago they made only $289 B o Many of our goods are now labeled â€Å"Made in China† o China’s autocratic government and limited constraints on the military will allow it to reach the status of world superpower o China’s military is the largest standing army in the world, with about 3 M soldiers and some 1. M reserves. They are a nuclear power, and have medium-range and intercontinental ballistic missiles Personal opinion o Do you agree? Why or why not? 2. Discuss the many centripetal and centrifugal forces acting within India. Why is this country considered to be one of the world’s most complex states, and what are the most serious challenges facing India as it moves into the twenty-first century? Centripetal forces: cultural strength of Hinduism, its sacred writings, holy rivers, and influence over Indian life for most Indians, Hinduism is a way of life as much as it is a faith and its diffusion over the entire country brings with it a national coherence that constitutes a powerful antidote to regional divisiveness. Democratic institutions- in a country as culturally diverse and as populous as India, reliance on democratic institutions has been a birthright ever since independence, and democracy’s survival( crucial unifier. Communications are better in much of India than in many other countries in the global periphery Continuous circulation of people, ideas, and goods helps bind the disparate state together Before independence, opposition to British rule was a shared philosophy( strong force Preservation of union is now a common objective thanks to national planning India’s capacity for accommodating major changes and its flexibility in the fact of regional and local demands Federal power and cooperative negotiation have allowed boundaries to be shifter, internal political entities to be created, relocated or modified, and secessionist demands have been handled India’s history of success Education: high literary rates (exceeds 96% for both males and females) Educational opportunity (colonial legacy) India has the educated workforce to seize opportunities for service jobs on the global economic scene. Strong leadership: Gandhi, Nehru, and others( did much to unify India by the strength of their compelling personalities. Centrifugal forces: Hinduism’s stratification of society into castes remains pervasive(castes are fixed layers in society whose ranks are based on ancestries, family ties, and occupations. ( thus in the city as well as the village, communities were segregated according to caste, ranging from highest (priests, princes) to the lowest (the untouchables). Hindutva or Hinduness- a desire to remake India as a society in which Hindu principles prevail( this concept has become the guiding agenda for a political party that has become a powerful component of the federal gov’t and it is variously expressed as Hindu nationalism, Hindu patriotism, and Hindu heritage( this worries Muslims and other minorities, but also concerns those who understand that India’s secularism, its separation of religion and state, is indispensable to the survival of its democracy Hindutva enthusiasts want to impose Hindu curriculum on schools, change the flexible family law in ways that would ma ke it unacceptable to Muslims. 3. Discuss high population growth in the developing world. What are the difficulties associated with trying to curb human fertility in the developing world? Where and how have there been successes? Discuss the Demographic Transitions model and comment on its applicability to developing realms. -Countries suffering from population growth problem China and India -China 1. billion people: Zeadong believed socialist countries need more people to improve China -India: 1. 1. Billion people – lack of education -China tries to control birth rates by sterilizing, local propaganda and education -Ordered to have a one child – lower birth rates -Abortion even in third trimester -Sending second or third children to villages -India: -Population of people will not compare to growth of food in future – problem -Sterilizing, family planning -74% people live on farms – hard to get information to them, 7% women illiterate -Children help on farms – high rates of fertility -Shortage of food land -Family planning more successful in wealthy areas Demographic model: stage one non-stable rate of birth and death -Rapid population growth: threat to national development -Economic gains overtaken by growing numbers -Lower income economies -In high income economies-population growth small -Went through demographic transition (4 stage) took them from high birth rates in reindustrialize times to very low birth rates in and low death today. Stages 283-population explosion: death rates in industrializing and urbanizing countries dropped but birth rates took longer to decline -India: youth’s unable to find employment, live in poverty 4. Describe the problems and future prospects facing the new countries of ‘Turkestan’. Kazakhstan: territorially larger than the other five combined but situated astride an ethnic transition zone Russian’s constitute 30% of population (15. 2 million) Capital- Astana, clearly a forward capital. This placement symbolizes Kazakhstan’s cooperative relationship with Russia and its confidence as the richest economy in former Soviet Central Asia based on its oil, natural gas, and mineral resources. Kazakhstan is the corridor between the Caspian Basin’s oil reserves and china( Oil and gas pipelines across Kazakhstan could eliminate, or greatly reduce China’s dependence on oil carried by tankers along distant sea lanes. Turkmenistan: with important frontage on the Caspian Sea and bordering Iran and Afghanistan population of just 5. 9 million, 75% Turkmen traditionally nomadic Muslim people, many of whom were forced into sedentary farming during the country’s days a s a Soviet Socialist Republic. Post-independence, a former ruler reinvented himself as Turkmen patriot, banned all opposition, and outdid his erstwhile Soviet masters in his own control over education and religion