Middle East, Europe, and Africa: Politics and Culture
Middle East
Lebanon is a parliamentary democratic republic with two main political groups: Hezbollah and the Beirut government. It has a Christian president, a Sunni Muslim prime minister, and a Shia Muslim parliament. The population is a mix of Muslims and Christians.
Turkey is characterized by religious and nationalist sentiments. The Islamic party often wins elections. The Kurds, a predominantly secular group, are often in opposition. The population is primarily Muslim and Turkish.
Iran is a theocratic, Islamic republic. Persians are the dominant ethnic group, and Islam is the state religion.
Persians control two states: Iran and Tajikistan. Tajikistan’s inhabitants speak Persian, and a dialect called Dari is spoken in Afghanistan. Tajikistan uses the Cyrillic script.
Algeria is a pseudo-military state with Arabic as the official language and Islam as the dominant religion.
Pakistan is a federal and parliamentary republic. Islam is the state religion, and Urdu is the official language.
Democratic states in the region include Israel, Iraq, Tunisia, Turkey, and Kurdistan.
Turkic languages are spoken in autocratic states like Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan.
The Arab Spring also affected Tunisia, Yemen, Libya, and Syria.
Absolute monarchies in the region include Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Jordan, and Qatar.
Iraq has a diverse population, including Kurds, Sunni Arabs, and Shia Arabs.
Kyrgyzstan is a democracy where a Persian language is spoken, and Islam is the main religion.
Azerbaijan is a Turkic-speaking dictatorship with Azeri as the official language and Islam as the dominant religion.
In India, two significant political centers are:
- Punjab, where the Pakistan Muslim League, known as Nawaz (a religious party), is prominent.
- Sindh, where the Pakistan People’s Party, known as Bhuttos (a secular party), is influential.
Eastern Europe and Central Asia
Mongolia is a democracy with a Buddhist majority. Mongolians use the Cyrillic script.
Eastern Christianity is practiced by Abyssinians in Ethiopia, who speak Semitic languages. It is also present in Syria and Southern India. Semitic languages are descendants of Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic.
Western Christians, including Protestants and Catholics, are found in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Croatia. These groups are Catholic and speak Slavic languages.
Russia is a managed democracy (effectively a dictatorship) with a Christian Orthodox majority.
Ukraine is a democratic, multi-party state. The population is diverse, with Western Ukrainians, Southeastern Russians, and Eastern Russians. The majority are Orthodox Christians.
Belarus is a dictatorship with a predominantly Orthodox Christian population. They are White East Slavic and speak Belarusian and Russian.
Georgia is a democracy that experienced the Rose Revolution. It is pro-West and has frozen conflicts with Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The population is primarily Orthodox and speaks Georgian.
Moldova is a democratic, post-Soviet state with an Eastern Christian majority. The population is primarily Orthodox and speaks Romanian.
Bosniaks are predominantly Muslim, Serbs are Eastern Orthodox, and Croats are Catholic.
Kosovo is a democracy with a majority Albanian population who are Sunni Muslims due to the Ottoman Empire’s influence. There is also a Serbian minority.
European Union
The European Union comprises conventionally democratic, capitalist countries close to the economic core with high GDP per capita. The main language groups are Germanic, Romance, and Slavic. Christianity is the dominant religion.
Neutral countries in Europe include Sweden, Switzerland, Finland, and Austria.
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa has been heavily influenced by the West, including religion and language. While African dialects are used in everyday language (vernacular), government affairs are often conducted in European languages. Animism, Islam, and Christianity are prevalent. The Sahara Desert has historically been a barrier to the transfer of plants and animals, with only Arabs being able to adapt.
Many African nations are characterized by dictatorships, resource curse, civil war, colonization, and corruption, leading to low GDP per capita.
The Scramble for Africa, formalized during the Berlin Conference, involved Germany, France, Britain, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, and Italy.
Botswana is an African democracy that has avoided the resource curse.
Ghana is a democracy known for its “one man, one vote” principle. However, the party that was initially elected has remained in power.
South Africa is a post-apartheid state with a diverse population of whites, blacks, coloreds, and Indians. The two main groups are Afrikaners and Dutch. The government is determined by the parliament, with the African National Congress being a major political force. South Africa has a relatively high GDP per capita.
In 1994, a genocide occurred in Rwanda, where between 800,000 and 1,000,000 Tutsis were killed by Hutus.
Copts are descendants of Egyptians who speak Arabic and are predominantly Christian.