Darfur Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Darfur - Essay Example c warfare between the Sudanese central government and a number of insurgent movements since February 2003; these groups are demanding rights for the local peoples and more state investment in their marginalized region†. In other words, the main reason for the appearance and the development of violence in the state has been the opposition between the government’s decisions and the willing of the major part of the population. It should be noticed that the consequences of the development of this conflict have been severe. More specifically, it is noticed in the Africa Studies Centre (2007) that â€Å"at the start of the armed conflict, Darfur, which is the size of France, had a population of about 6 million (virtually all Muslims) but the number is significantly lower today due to mass killings, disease, famine and forced expulsions akin to ethnic cleansing caused by the ‘scorched earth’ military actions of the government troops and local militias; these milit ias, known as the ‘Janjawiid’, have been largely recruited from Arabized peoples from northern and eastern Darfur†. The main reason for the continuation of the above described situation cannot be precisely described, however it could be considered that the oppositions in interests of the state and those of the rebels is more likely to have led to this result. The development of the conflict in Darfur is described on a report of BBC News (2007) according to which â€Å"The conflict began in the arid and impoverished region early in 2003 after a rebel group began attacking government targets, saying the region was being neglected by Khartoum; the rebels say the government is oppressing black Africans in favour of Arabs; Darfur, which means land of the Fur, has faced many years of tension over land and grazing rights between the mostly nomadic Arabs, and farmers from the Fur, Massaleet and Zagawa communities†. In other words, it seems that the conflict in Darf ur has not begun because of a random initiative

The Strategic Management of Geopolitical Interests Assignment

The Strategic Management of Geopolitical Interests - Assignment Example One of the most enduring theories about geopolitics is the one proposed by Sir Halford Mackinder. In his influential work entitled â€Å"The Geographical Pivot of History†, he had proposed that Eurasia (most of Central Asia) is the main strategic point from which great land power emanates from.1 His theory and published works had a marked influence on subsequent heads of state in their conduct of foreign and state policies. Despite the passage of several years, it continues to be an influential work and one of the foremost proponents of his theory is former National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski. In this regard, Brzezinski subscribes to the same principle that the massive landlocked area of Eurasia is still the so-called â€Å"key position† in most military strategy formulation; whoever possesses Eurasia will win the strategic battle. Brzezinski continues to see the world in terms of black and white; not in shades of gray. This is a dangerous carryover of the Mackinder theory about see-saw struggles between land and sea power over previous centuries (or fight of East vs. West, Christianity vs. Islam, whale vs. white bear, Europe vs. Asia, etc.). Along this line, Brzezinski believed that Eurasia is the chief geopolitical prize in a fight for world dominance because it possesses great potential for development from its raw materials. With the United States considered as maritime power itself (which succeeded Great Britain), the current occupant of this big land mass which is Russia (or the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, which was the successor of the Russian Empire) is considered as a threat to the U.S. for global power. In this aspect, Brzezinski is similar to Mackinder in his global outlook or world view of historical events. His assertion regarding Soviet threats (communism) is but a repetition of Mackinders theory regarding threats