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Southwest Asia

Southwest Asia

Southwest Asia (often confused with the Middle East) is the southwestern portion of Asia. The term Western Asia is commonly used in writings about the archaeology and late prehistory of the region. Unlike the Middle East, which is a vaguely-defined region generally meant to include the African state of Egypt, Western Asia is a purely geographical term that includes the southwestern extreme of Asia. South-western Asia is partly coterminous with the traditional European name "the Middle East". The term "West Asia" has become the preferred term of use for the Middle East by international organizations (most notably the United Nations) and also in African and Asian countries, such as India, because of the perceived Eurocentrism of the historical term "Middle East". In therms of cultural and political geography, the Middle East sometimes includes North African countries, particularly Egypt. For similar reasons, Afghanistan, Central Asia and/or Pakistan are variously affiliated with the region, as well. The United Nations, however, assigns Iran and Afghanistan to South Asia and includes Azerbaijan and Georgia in Southwest Asia, even though the latter are partly located in Europe and have political, historical and cultural ties to Europe. See Continent and Transcontinental country for further definitions Southwest Asia is in most contexts meant to encompass:
- Armenia
- Bahrain
- Cyprus
- Egypt (Sinai)
- Gaza Strip
- Iran
- Iraq
- Israel
- Jordan
- Kuwait
- Lebanon
- Oman
- Qatar
- Saudi Arabia
- Syria
- Turkey (Anatolia)
- United Arab Emirates
- West Bank
- Yemen In addition, its limits is sometimes widened to include:
- Afghanistan
- Azerbaijan
- Georgia
- all of Egypt
- adjacent parts of Central and South Asia See also population and area figures for countries of Asia for more information. Anatolia, Arabia, Levant, and Mesopotamia are subregions of Southwest Asia.

Other subregions of Asia

- East Asia
- Southeast Asia
- South Asia (Indian Subcontinent)
- Central Asia
- North Asia (Siberia)
- Northern Eurasia (Extends into Europe)
- Central Eurasia (Extends into Europe)

Middle East

The Middle East is a political and cultural subregion of Asia, or of Africa-Eurasia. The core of the region comprises the lands between the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf along with the Anatolian, Arabian and Sinai peninsulas. Sometimes, it is used in a broader sense which can include areas stretching from North Africa in the west to Pakistan in the east and the Caucasus and/or Central Asia in the north. The media and various international organizations (such as the United Nations) usually considers the Middle East to be Southwest Asia (including Cyprus and Iran) plus all of Egypt. The area encompasses several cultural and ethnic groups, including the Iranians, Arabs, Greeks, Jews, Berbers, Assyrians, Kurds and Turks. The main language groups include: the Persian, Arabic, Hebrew, Assyrian, Kurdish and Turkish. The corresponding adjective is Middle-Eastern and the derived noun is Middle-Easterner. Most Western definitions of the "Middle East" -- in both established reference books and common usage -- define the region as 'nations in Southwest Asia, from Iran (Persia) to Egypt'. Consequently, Egypt, with its Sinai Peninsula in Asia, is usually considered part of the 'Middle East', although most of the country lies geographically in North Africa. North African nations without Asian links, such as Libya, Tunisia and Morocco, are increasingly being called North African -- as opposed to Middle Eastern (Iran to Egypt - Asia) -- by international media outlets.

History

North African Main article: History of the Middle East Starting in the middle of the 20th century, the Middle East has been at the center of world affairs, and has been an extremely strategically, economically, politically, culturally, and religiously sensitive area. It possesses huge stocks of crude oil and is the birthplace and spiritual centre of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Borders

The term Middle East defines a cultural area, so it does not have precise borders. The most common and highly arbitrary definition includes: Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Turkey, Iran (Persia), Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Iran is often the eastern border, but Afghanistan and western Pakistan are often included due to their close relationship (ethnically and religiously) to the larger group of Iranian peoples as well as historical connections to the Middle East including being part of the various empires that have spanned the region such as those of the Persians and Arabs among others. Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and western Pakistan (Baluchistan and North West Frontier Province) share close cultural, linguistic, and historical ties with Iran and are also part of the Iranian plateau, whereas Iran's relationship with Arab states is based more upon religion and geographic proximity. Also the Kurds, another group of Iranic linguistic extraction, are the largest ethnic group in the Middle East without their own state. North Africa or the Maghrib, although often placed outside the Middle East proper, does have strong cultural and linguistic links to the region, and historically has shared many of the events that have shaped the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern regions including those prompted by Phoenician-colonized Carthage and Greco-Roman civilization as well as Muslim Arab-Berber and Ottoman empires. The Maghrib is sometimes included, sometimes excluded from the Middle East by the media and in informal usage, while most academics continue to identify North Africa as geographically a part of Africa, but being closely related to southwestern Asia in terms of politics, culture, religion, language, history, and genetics. This can be compared with other similar instances in which, for example, Tasmania and Newfoundland, geographically non-European, share many such traits with northwestern western Europe while Madagascar is in some of these respects more like southeast Asia than southeast Africa. The Caucasus region, Cyprus, and Turkey, although often grouped into Southwest Asia based upon geographic proximity and continuity, are generally considered culturally and politically European due to their various historic and recent political ties to that region. For example, Armenia and Cyprus, although both exist in close geographic proximity to the Middle East, possess two important criteria that links them more to Europe than to the Middle East: their national identity that combines an Indo-European linguistic background and majority populations that adhere to Christianity, which are both factors that do not correspond with most typically Middle Eastern countries some of whom possess one trait (Indo-European languages dominate Iran and Afghanistan for example) or the other (Lebanon is the only country that may have a Christian majority but this remains speculative as well). Turkey possesses neither of these European traits, but has deep historic (and according to genetic research DNA) connections with Europe since it was the site of the Byzantine Empire and the Ottoman Empire that overlapped into Europe. As a prospective candidate of the European Union and a long-time member of NATO, Turkey has adopted the secular traits that dominate Europe and has severed many of its ties to the Middle East with the notable exception of the religion of Islam. Both Georgia and Azerbaijan were radically altered by the dominion of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union and are seen as more 'European' then Middle Eastern and generally viewed as a regional bloc in the Caucasus region. Central Asian countries from the former Soviet Bloc also show varying degrees of affinity and historical ties to the Middle East, but not in any uniform fashion. While the southern states of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan display many cultural, historical, and socio-political similarities to the Middle East, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are examples of more remote and mixed cultures. As a result, these states are often viewed as similarly Eurasian to the Caucasus and their Soviet past has set them apart in various ways from the Middle East, while there has been a movement to re-establish ties to the region in Tajikistan, for example, based upon their ethno-linguistic affinities with Iran and Afghanistan. Like the Caucasus and Turkey, Central Asia has strong secular and 'western' affinities that are both Soviet legacies, although this may change with some recent shifts towards a historical-cultural renaissance and resurgence of Islamic identity that were suppressed for decades by Soviet authorities. Lastly, the state of Israel also represents a unique fusion of European and Middle Eastern traits, but due to geographic continuity with the Levant and a majority population that is predominantly Middle Eastern (including Sephardic Jews, Sabras, Israeli Arabs, etc.). However, due to political and religious conflict, Israel is something of an anomaly in a region of exceptions and diversity.

Changes in the meaning over time

Until World War 2, it was customary to refer to the eastern shore of the Mediterranean as the Near East. The Middle East then meant the area from Mesopotamia to Burma, namely the area between the Near East and the Far East. The sense described in this article evolved during the war, perhaps influenced by the ancient idea of the Mediterranean as the "sea in the middle".

Eurocentrism

Some have criticized the term Middle East for its perceived Eurocentrism. The region is only east from the perspective of western Europe. To an Indian, it lies to the west; to a Russian, it lies to the south. The description Middle has also led to some confusion over changing definitions. Before the First World War, Near East was used in English to refer to the Balkans and the Ottoman Empire, while Middle East referred to Persia, Afghanistan and Central Asia, Turkistan and the Caucasus. In contrast, Far East refers to the countries of East Asia e.g. China, Japan, Koreas, Hong Kong, Taiwan etc. With the disappearance of the Ottoman Empire in 1918, Near East largely fell out of common use in English, while Middle East came to be applied to the re-emerging countries of the Islamic world. However, the usage of Near East was retained by a variety of academic disciplines, including archaeology and ancient history, where it describes an area identical to the term Middle East, which is not used by these disciplines (see Ancient Near East). So in shorter words, the term Middle East came about when the UK/French part of the world used the term. In German the Term Naher Osten (Near East) is still in common use. The criticism of Eurocentrism is of course related to the fact that 'East' and 'West' are defined in relation to the lines of Longitude relative to the Prime Meridian or Greenwich Meridian and therefore inherently Eurocentric. This was a result of the British cartography standard being widely accepted in 1884 at the International Meridian Conference.

Indirect translations

There are terms similar to Near East and Middle East in other European languages, but, since it is a relative description, the meanings depend on the country and are different from the English terms generally. See :fr:Proche-Orient, :fr:Moyen-Orient, and :de:Naher Osten for examples.

Similar terms

In some ways the lack of precise borders of the Middle East is an advantage, since it can be used to describe various cultural and political criteria. This vagueness in definition has led to the emergence of alternative neutral terms used by international organizations and movements, namely Southwest Asia and West Asia, which has become the preferred term of use in India, both by the government and by the media. Arab world is not a synonumous term for the Middle East, although it covers most of the same area. "Middle East-North Africa" (MENA), which is sometimes used to encompass the zone from Morocco to Iran, also occasionally called the Greater Middle East; sometimes this term is used to mean the entire area of Africa from the Sahara to the Mediterranean and Asia west of China and India and south of Russia. It is used by some historians who deal with various empires and civilizations (including that of the Mediterreanean Greco-Romans and Persians as well as the vast Arab Caliphates and the regions where early Muslim Turks established their rule). It can encompass North Africa and Turkey in the west to Pakistan and Afghanistan in the east. The term 'Greater Middle East' remains in use by the G8, the US State Department[http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/43293.pdf], and various academic institutions such as the Middle East Institute.[http://www.mideasti.org/countries/countries_main.html]

Middle Easterner

Strictly speaking, A Middle Easterner is someone who lives in, or is from the area around the eastern Mediterranean, from Iran to northern Africa and eastward to Pakistan. The site of such ancient civilizations as Phoenicia and Persian and Babylon and Egypt is the birthplace of Judaism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism and Islam.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Asia

Regions of the Middle East

Main article: Middle Eastern Regions
- Iranian Plateau
- Anatolia - Turkey
- Mediterranean Sea - Cyprus
- Arabia, see Persian Gulf States - Saudi Arabia, Qatar, U.A.E., Oman, Yemen, Bahrain - Iraq
- The Levant - Syria, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Egypt's Sinai Peninsula

External links

- [http://www.mideastforums.com Middle East Forum]
- [http://irangraffiti.blogspot.com/ Urban Art from The Middleeast.]
- [http://www.ancientneareast.net/ Ancient Near East .net] - provides a comprehensive portal to the archaeology and ancient cultures of the Near / Middle East
- [http://www.history-forum.com/index.php/board,7.0.html History of Middle East] releated discussions on [http://www.history-forum.com History Forum]
- [http://fp.arizona.edu/mesassoc/ Middle East Studies Association (MESA) of North America]
- [http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/su/mideast/ University of Chicago Library - Middle East Department]
- [http://www.geocities.com/martinkramerorg/OldNew.htm The Middle East, Old and New] by Martin Kramer
- [http://www.mepra.org/ Middle East Public Relations Association (MEPRA)]
- [http://www.kolahstudio.com/ Middle Eastern Artists : Iranian Contemporary and young blood Art.]
- [http://www.mideasti.org/countries/countries_main.html Middle East Institute]

Video

- Category:Asia
- Middle East ko:중동 ja:中東 simple:Middle East th:ตะวันออกกลาง

Subregion

A subregion is a conceptual unit which derives from a larger region or continent and is usually based on location. Directional prefixes, such as north or southern, are commonly used to define a subregion.

Subregions by continent

Here are a few examples of subregions sorted by continent:

Africa

- by UN subregion:
- Northern Africa
- Western Africa
- Middle Africa
- Eastern Africa
- Southern Africa
- by geography:
- North Africa
- Maghreb
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- West Africa (Bulge of Africa)
- East Africa (Horn of Africa)
- Central Africa
- Southern Africa

America

North America

- by UN subregion:
- Northern America
- Central America
- The Caribbean
- by geography:
- Canadian Arctic
- Great Basin
- Great Plains
- Great Lakes
- The Greater Antilles
- The Lesser Antilles
- by geology:
- Canadian Shield
- North American craton
- Slave craton
- Superior craton
- Wyoming craton

South America

- by geography:
- Altiplano
- Amazon Basin
- Andes
- Caribbean South America
- Gran Chaco
- Guianas
- Pampa
- Pantanal
- Patagonia
- by economics (South American Community of Nations):
- Andean Community
- Mercosur

Eurasia

Asia

- by UN subregion:
- Western Asia
- Central Asia
- Southern Asia
- Eastern Asia
- Southeastern Asia
- by geography:
- Central Asia
- West Asia (or Middle East)
- Gulf States
- Near East
- Anatolia
- Caucasus
- Arabian Peninsula
- Levant
- North Asia (see Siberia)
- East Asia
- South Asia, or the Indian Subcontinent
- Bengal
- Himalayan States
- Southeast Asia
- Maritime
- Mainland
- Indochina

Europe

- by UN subregion:
- Western Europe
- Northern Europe
- Southern Europe
- Eastern Europe
- by peninsula:
- Balkan Peninsula
- Iberian Peninsula
- Italian Peninsula
- Scandinavian Peninsula
- by other groupings:
- Baltic States
- Benelux or the Low Countries
- British Isles
- Central Europe
- Nordic States
- Visegrad Group

Oceania

- Australasia or Australia
- Melanesia
- Micronesia
- Polynesia

Asia

Asia is the central and eastern part of Eurasia, and the world's largest continent. Defined by subtracting Europe from Eurasia, Asia is either regarded as a landmass of its own, or as part of Eurasia. The demarcation between Asia and Africa is the isthmus of Suez (although the Sinai Peninsula, being a part of Egypt east of the canal, is often geopolitically considered a part of Africa). The boundary between Asia and Europe runs via the Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, to the Black Sea, the Caucasus Mountains, the Caspian Sea, the Ural River to its source, and the Ural Mountains to the Kara Sea at Kara, Russia. About 60 percent of the world's human population lives in Asia. Asia as a political division consists of the eastern part of Eurasia and nearby islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, often excluding Russia. Pacific Ocean

Etymology

The word Asia entered English, via Latin, from Ancient Greek Ασία (Asia; see also List of traditional Greek place names). This name is first attested in Herodotus (c. 440 BC), where it refers to Asia Minor; or, for the purposes of describing the Persian Wars, to the Persian Empire, as opposed to Greece and Egypt. Even before Herodotus, Homer knew of a Trojan ally named Asios, son of Hyrtacus, a ruler over several towns, and elsewhere he describes a marsh as ασιος (Iliad 2, 461). The Greek term may be derived from from Assuwa, a 14th century BC confederation of states in Western Anatolia. Hittite assu- "good" is probably an element in that name. Alternatively, the ultimate etymology of the term may be from the Akkadian word (w)aṣû(m), cognate of Hebrew יצא, which means "to go out", referring to the direction of the sun at sunset in the Middle East. This may be compared to a similar etymology proposed for Europe, as being from Semitic erēbu "to enter" or "set" (of the sun). These etymologies presuppose an originally Mesopotamian or Middle Eastern perspective, which would explain how the term "Asia" first came to be associated with Anatolia as lying west of the Semitic speaking area.

Geographical Regions

See also Geography of Asia. As already mentioned, Asia is a subregion of Eurasia. For further subdivisions based on that term, see North Eurasia and Central Eurasia. Some Asian countries stretch beyond Asia. See Bicontinental country for details about the borderline cases between Asia and Europe, Asia and Africa and Asia and Oceania. Asia itself is often divided in the following subregions:
- North Asia
- Central Asia
- East Asia (or Far East)
- Southeast Asia
- South Asia (or Indian Subcontinent)
- Southwest Asia (or West Asia)

North Asia

This term is rarely used by geographers, but usually it refers to the bigger Asian part of Russia, also known as Siberia. Sometimes the northern parts of other Asian nations, such as Kazakhstan are also included in Northern Asia.

Central Asia

There is no absolute consensus in the usage of this term. Usually, Central Asia includes:
- the Central Asian Republics of Kazakhstan (excluding its small European territory), Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan.
- Afghanistan, Mongolia, and the western regions of China are also sometimes included.
- Former Soviet states in the Caucasus region. Central Asia is currently geopolitically important because international disputes and conflicts over oil pipelines, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Chechnya, as well as the presence of U.S. military forces in Afghanistan.

East Asia (or Far East)

This area includes:
- The Pacific Ocean islands of Taiwan and Japan.
- North and South Korea on the Korean Peninsula.
- China, but sometimes only the eastern regions Sometimes the nations of Mongolia and Vietnam are also included in East Asia. More informally, Southeast Asia is included in East Asia on some occasions.

Southeast Asia

This region contains the Malay Peninsula, Indochina and islands in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean. The countries it contains are:
- In mainland Southeast Asia, the countries Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.
- In Maritime Southeast Asia, the countries of Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines, Singapore and Indonesia (some of the Indonesian islands also lie in the Melanesia region of Oceania). East Timor (also Melanesian) is sometimes included too. The country of Malaysia is divided in two by the South China Sea, and thus has both a mainland and island part.

South Asia (or Indian Subcontinent)

South Asia is also referred to as the Indian Subcontinent. It includes:
- the Himalayan States of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.
- the Indian Ocean nations of Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

Southwest Asia (or West Asia)

This can also be called by the Western term Middle East, which is commonly used by Europeans and Americans. Middle East (to some interpretations) is often used to also refer to some countries in North Africa. Southwest Asia can be further divided into:
- Anatolia (i.e. Asia Minor), constituting the Asian part of Turkey.
- The island nation of Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea.
- The Levant or Near East, which includes Syria, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and the Asian portion of Egypt.
- The Arabian peninsula, including Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Yemen and occasionally Kuwait.
- The Caucasus region, including Armenia, a tiny portion of Russia and almost the whole of Georgia and Azerbaijan.
- The Iranian Plateau, containing Iran and parts of other nations. Also see Gulf States, for a different grouping involving several of the above countries.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Asia In terms of gross domestic product (PPP), Asia's largest economy wholly within Asia is that of the PRC (People's Republic of China), however the economy of the E.U. (European Union), one state of which (Cyprus) lies within Asia, is the largest in the world. The E.U.'s status as a supranational union, rather than a sovereign state, makes the claim questionable, especially since, when considered alone, the economy of Cyprus is one of the smallest in both the E.U. and Asia, and not many times larger than that of East Timor, the Asian state with the smallest economy (although as of 2005 there is no reliable data for either Iraq or North Korea). Over the last decade, China's and India's economies have been growing rapidly, both with an average annual growth rate over 6%. PRC is the world's third largest economy after the E.U. and U.S.A., followed by Japan and India as the world's fourth and fifth largest economies respectively (then followed by the European nations: Germany, U.K., France and Italy). In terms of exchange rates however, Japan has the largest economy in Asia and the third largest in the world. Trade blocs:
- Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
- Association of Southeast Asian Nations
- Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement
- Commonwealth of Independent States
- South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
- South Asia Free Trade Agreement (proposed)

Natural resources

Asia is by a considerable margin the largest continent in the world, and is rich in natural resources, such as Petroleum and iron. High productivity in agriculture, especially of rice, allows high population density of countries in the warm and humid area. Other main agricultural products include wheat and chicken. Forestry is extensive throughout Asia except Southwest and Central Asia. Fishing is a major source of food in Asia, particularly in Japan.

Manufacturing

Manufacturing in Asia has traditionally been strongest in East and Southeast Asia, particularly in PRC, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Singapore. The industry varies from manufacturing cheap goods such as toys to high-tech goods such as computers and cars. Many companies from Europe, North America, and Japan have significant operations in the developing Asia to take avantage of its abundant supply of cheap labor. One of the major employers in manufacturing in Asia is the textile industry. Much of the world's supply of clothing and footwear now originates in Southeast Asia.

Financial and other services

Asia has three main financial centers. They are in Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo. Call centers are becoming major employers in India, due to the availablity of many well-educated English speakers. The rise of the business process outsourcing industry has seen the rise of India and China as the other financial centers.

Early history

Main article: History of Asia The history of Asia can be seen as the distinct histories of several peripheral coastal regions, East Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East, linked by the interior mass of the Eurasian steppe. The coastal periphery was home to some of the world's earliest known civilizations, with each of the three regions developing early civilizations around fertile river valleys. The civilizations in Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley, and the Yangtze shared many similarities and likely exchanged technologies and ideas such as mathematics and the wheel. Other notions such as that of writing likely developed individually in each area. Cities, states and empires developed in these lowlands. The steppe region had long been inhabited by mounted nomads, and from the central steppes they could reach all areas of Asia. The earliest known such central expansion out of the steppe is that of the Indo-Europeans, who spread their languages into the Middle East, India, and in the Tocharians to the borders of China. The northern part of Asia, covering much of Siberia, was inaccessible to the steppe nomads, due to the dense forests and the tundra. These areas were very sparsely populated. The centre and periphery were kept separate by mountains and deserts. The Caucasus, Himalaya, Karakum Desert and Gobi Desert formed barriers that the steppe horsemen could only cross with difficulty. While technologically and culturally, the urban city dwellers were more advanced, they could do little militarily to defend against the mounted hordes of the steppe. However, the lowlands did not have enough open grasslands to support a large horsebound force. Thus the nomads who conquered states in China, India, and the Middle East were soon forced to adapt to the local societies.

Population density

The following table lists countries and dependencies by population density in inhabitants and km². Unlike the figures in the country articles, the figures in this table are based on areas including inland water bodies (lakes, reservoirs, rivers) and may therefore be lower here. The whole of Egypt, Russia, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey are referred to in the table, although they are only partly in Asia.

Religion

A large majority of the people in the world who practice a religious faith practice one which was founded in Asia. Religions founded in Asia and with a majority of their contemporary adherents in Asia include:
- Bahá'í Faith (slightly more than half of all adherents are in Asia)
- Buddhism (Japan,Sri Lanka, Korea, Singapore, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia, India)
- Hinduism (India, Singapore, Malaysia, Nepal, Bali)
- Islam (Central, South, and Southwest Asia, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia)
- Jainism (India)
- Shinto (Japan)
- Sikhism(India, Malaysia, Hong kong)
- Taoism (China, Vietnam, Singapore, and Taiwan)
- Zoroastrianism (Iran, India, Pakistan) Religions founded in Asia that have the majority of their contemporary adherents in other regions include:
- Christianity (South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, East Timor, India and the Philippines)
- Judaism (slightly fewer than half of its adherents reside in Asia)

References

External links

- http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/asia.html
- http://www.freeworldmaps.net/asia/index.html
- [http://www.alloexpat.com AlloExpat - Asia Information & Forums]
- [http://www.asiaexpat.info Asia Expat Forum - Discuss this region with expatriates] Category:Continents zh-min-nan:A-chiu ko:아시아 ms:Asia ja:アジア simple:Asia th:ทวีปเอเชีย

Physical geography

Physical geography or physiogeography is a subfield of geography that focuses on the systematic study of patterns and processes within the hydrosphere, biosphere, atmosphere, and lithosphere. It aims to understand the physical layout of the Earth, its weather and global flora and fauna patterns. Many areas of physical geography make use of geology, particularly in the study of weathering and erosion. The geology of other planets is discussed at Geological features of the Solar System.

Fields of physical geography

Middle East

History

Borders

Changes in the meaning over time

Eurocentrism

Indirect translations

Similar terms

Middle Easterner

Geography

Main article: Geography of Asia

Regions of the Middle East

External links

Video

- Category:Asia
- Middle East ko:중동 ja:中東 simple:Middle East th:ตะวันออกกลาง

International organizations

:For the political science journal, see: International Organization An international organization (also called intergovernmental organization) is an organization of international scope or character. There are two main types of international organizations:
- international intergovernmental organizations, whose members are sovereign states or other intergovernmental organizations (like European Union in the WTO).
- and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), which are private organizations. Generally and correctly used, the term international organization is used to mean international governmental organizations only. It is in this sense that the term is used in the remainder of this article. Legally speaking, an international organization must be established by a treaty providing it with legal recognition. International organizations so established are subjects of international law, capable of entering into agreements among themselves or with states. Thus international organizations in a legal sense are distinguished from mere groupings of states, such as the G-8 and the G-77, neither of which have been founded by treaty, though in non-legal contexts these are sometimes referred to as international organizations as well. International organizations must also be distinguished from treaties; while all international organizations are founded on a treaty, many treaties (e.g., the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)) do not establish an international organization and rely purely on the parties for their administration. International organizations can be categorised in two main ways: by their membership, and by their function. International organizations differ in who their members are and in who is permitted to join them. Membership of some organizations (global organizations) is open to all the nations of the world. This category includes the United Nations and its specialized agencies and the World Trade Organization. Some specialized agencies predate all other types. In the nineteenth century, France was the fons et origo of many of them. By this it is meant that much of the driving force to form such bodies (such as those which maintain the SI (metric system)) came from the French, and that their headquarters is in France, often in Paris. Under the Third Republic, the International Exposition of 1878 in that city held a great number of meetings of such international organizations - as opposed to the preceding regimes. The motivation was that to keep France a republic and not slip back into either a monarchist or Bonapartist regime, the republicans would underscore their inheritance of the crusading nature of the French Revolution against feudal cultural remnants within France, which had been generalized to the rest of feudal Europe, eventually to the world. Some conclude from this example that internationalism often has national origins, at the difference of globalism. Other organizations are only open to members from a particular region or continent of the world, like European Union, African Union, ASEAN and so on. Finally, some organizations base their membership on other criteria: cultural or historical links (the Commonwealth of Nations, La Francophonie, the Community of Portuguese Language Countries), level of economic development or type of economy (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Organization of Petroleum-Exporting Countries (OPEC)), or religion (Organization of the Islamic Conference). Were it to come about, the ultimate international organization would be a Federal World Government. The Union of International Associations provides information on international organizations.

Examples of global organizations

- United Nations, its specialized agencies, and associated organizations
- International Hydrographic Organization
- World Trade Organization
- Universal Postal Union

Examples of regional organizations

Universal Postal Union Europe:
- European Union (EU)
- Council of Europe
- European Free Trade Association
- European Space Agency
- European Patent Organisation Asia:
- Asian Cooperation Dialogue (ACD)
- Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
- South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
- Gulf Cooperation Council Eurasia:
- Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
- Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)
- Eurasian Economic Community
- Central Asian Cooperation Organization
- GUAM Africa:
- African Union
- Conseil de l'Entente
- Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
- Southern African Development Community (SADC)
- Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)
- Arab Maghreb Union Western Hemisphere:
- Organization of American States (OAS)
- South American Community of Nations
- Mercosur
- Andean Community
- Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
- Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS)
- Central American Parliament
- Rio Group
- NAFTA Trans-atlantic:
- North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)
- Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Pacific:
- Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
- Pacific Islands Forum
- Secretariat of the Pacific Community

Organizations formed on miscellaneous membership criteria

- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
- Organization of Petroleum-Exporting Countries (OPEC)
- Commonwealth of Nations
- La Francophonie
- Comunidade dos países de língua portuguesa (CPLP)
- Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI)
- Unión Latina
- Non-Aligned Movement
- Arab League
- Organization of the Islamic Conference
- Sister Cities International

Financial international organizations

- Bank for International Settlements
- International Monetary Fund (IMF)
- World Bank Group

India

The Republic of India is a country in South Asia which comprises of the majority of the Indian subcontinent. India has a coastline which stretches over seven thousand kilometres, and shares its borders with Pakistan to the west, the People's Republic of China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, and Bangladesh and Myanmar on the east. On the Indian Ocean, it is adjacent to the island nations of the Maldives on the southwest, Sri Lanka on the south, and Indonesia on the southeast. India also claims a border with Afghanistan to the northwest. India is the fourth largest economy in the world in terms of purchasing power parity. It is the second most populous country in the world, with a population of over one billion, and is the seventh largest country by geographical area. It is home to some of the most ancient civilizations, and a centre of important historic trade routes. Four major world religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism have originated from India. Formerly a major part of the British Empire as the British Raj before gaining independence in 1947, during the past twenty years the country has grown significantly, especially in its economic and military spheres, regionally as well as globally. The name India , is derived from the Old Persian version of Sindhu, the historic local appellation for the river Indus; see Origin of India's name. The Constitution of India and general usage also recognises Bharat ( ), which is derived from the Sanskrit name of an ancient Hindu king, whose story is to be found in the Mahabharata, as an official name of equal status. A third name, Hindustan ( ) , or Land of the Hindus in Persian, has been used since the twelfth century, though its contemporary use is unevenly applied due to domestic disputes over its representiveness as a national signifier.

History

Stone Age rock shelters with paintings at Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh are the earliest known traces of human life in India. The first known permanent settlements appeared 9,000 years ago and developed into the Indus Valley Civilisation, which peaked between 2600 BC and 1900 BC. It was followed by the Vedic Civilisation. From around 550 BC onwards, many independent kingdoms came into being. In the north, the Maurya dynasty, which included Ashoka, contributed greatly to India's cultural landscape. From 180 BC, a series of invasions from Central Asia followed, with the successive establishment in the northern Indian Subcontinent of the Indo-Greek, Indo-Scythian and Indo-Parthian kingdoms, and finally the Kushan Empire. From the 3rd century AD onwards the Gupta dynasty oversaw the period referred to as ancient India's "Golden Age". Gupta dynasty built by emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BC]] In the south, several dynasties including the Chalukyas, Cheras, Cholas, Kadambas, Pallavas and Pandyas prevailed during different periods. Science, art, literature, mathematics, astronomy, engineering, religion and philosophy flourished under the patronage of these kings. Following the Islamic invasions in the beginning of the second millennium, much of north and central India came to be ruled by the Delhi Sultanate, and later, much of the entire subcontinent by the Mughal dynasty. Nevertheless, several indigenous kingdoms remained or rose to power, especially in the relatively sheltered south. Vijayanagara Empire was notable among such kingdoms. During the middle of the second millennium, several European countries, including the Portuguese, Dutch, French and British, who were initially interested in trade with India, took advantage of fractured kingdoms fighting each other to establish colonies in the country. After a failed insurrection in 1857 against the British East India Company, popularly known in India as the First War of Indian Independence and most commonly known in the West as the Indian Mutiny, most of India came under the direct administrative control of the crown of the British Empire. British Empire, Orissa built in the 13th century, is one of the most famous monuments of stone sculpture in the world.]] sculpture in the 10th century AD.]] In the early part of the 20th century, a prolonged and largely non-violent struggle for independence, the Indian independence movement, followed, to be eventually led by Mahatma Gandhi, regarded officially as the Father Of The Nation. The culmination of this path-breaking struggle was reached on 1947-08-15 when India gained full independence from British rule, later becoming a republic on 1950-01-26. As a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country, India has had its share of sectarian violence and insurgencies in different parts of the country. Nonetheless, it has held itself together as a secular, liberal democracy barring a brief period from 1975 to 1977 during which the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a "state of emergency" with the suspension of civil rights. India has unresolved border disputes with China, which escalated into a brief war in 1962, and Pakistan which resulted in wars in 1947, 1965, and 1971, and a border altercation in the northern state of Kashmir in 1999. India was a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement and the United Nations. In 1974, India conducted an underground nuclear test, making it an unofficial member of the "nuclear club", which was followed up with a series of five more tests in 1998. Significant economic reforms beginning in 1991 have transformed India into one of the fastest growing economies in the world and added to its global clout.

Government

The Constitution of India states India to be a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic. India is a federal republic, with a bicameral parliament operating under a Westminster-style parliamentary system. It has a three branch system of governance consisting of the legislature, executive and judiciary. The President, who is the head of state, has a largely ceremonial role. His roles include interpreting the constitution, signing laws into action, and issuing pardons. He is also the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. The President and Vice-President are elected indirectly by an electoral college for five-year terms. The Prime Minister is the head of government and most executive powers are vested in this office. He (or she) is elected by legislators of the political party, or coalition, commanding a parliamentary majority, and serves a five-year term incumbent upon enjoying this majority. The constitution does not provide for a post of Deputy Prime Minister, but this option has been exercised from time to time. The legislature of India is the bicameral Parliament which consists of the upper house known as the Rajya Sabha, or Council of States, the lower house known as the Lok Sabha, or House of the People, and the President. The 245-member Rajya Sabha is chosen indirectly through an electoral college and has a staggered six year term. The 545-member Lok Sabha is directly elected for a five year term, and is the determinative constituent of political power and government formation. All Indian citizens above the age of eighteen are eligible to vote. The executive arm consists of the President, Vice-President and the Council of Ministers (the Cabinet) headed by the Prime Minister. Any minister holding a portfolio must be a member of either house of parliament. In India's parliamentary system, the executive is subordinate to the legislature. India's independent judiciary consists of the Supreme Court, headed by the Chief Justice of India. The Supreme Court has both original jurisdiction over disputes between states and the Centre, and appellate jurisdiction over the High Courts of India. There are eighteen appellate High Courts, having jurisdiction over a large state or a group of states. Each of these states has a tiered system of lower courts. A conflict between the legislature and the judiciary is referred to the President.

Politics

Chief Justice of India For most of its independent history, India's national government has been controlled by the Indian National Congress Party. Following its position as the largest political organisation in pre-independence India, Congress, usually led by a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family, dominated national politics for over forty years. In 1977, a united opposition, under the banner of the Janata Party, won the election and formed a non-Congress government for a short period after the unpopular 'emergency rule' imposed by Indira Gandhi in the previous Congress regime. In 1996, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a political party with a right wing nationalist ideology, became the largest single party, and established for the first time a serious opposition to the largely centre-left Congress. But power was held by two successive coalition governments, who stayed on with the support of the Congress. In 1998, the BJP formed the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) along with smaller parties and became the first non-Congress government to sustain the full five year term after it returned to power in 1999. The decade prior to 1999 was marked by short-lasting governments, with seven separate governments formed within that period. One however, a Congress government formed in 1991, lasted the full five years and initiated significant economic reforms. In the 2004 Indian elections the Congress party returned to power after winning the largest number of seats, by a narrow margin. Congress formed a government in alliance with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and with several mostly-regional parties called the United Progressive Alliance. The NDA, led by the BJP, currently forms the main opposition. All governments formed since 1996 have required party coalitions, with no single majority party, due to the steady rise of regional parties at the national level.

States and union territories

India is divided into twenty-eight states (which are further subdivided into districts), six Union Territories and the National Capital Territory of Delhi. States have their own elected government, whereas Union Territories are governed by an administrator appointed by the union government, though some have elected governments. India has had two scientific bases in Antarctica – the Dakshin Gangotri and Maitri, but has made no territorial claims so far.

Geography

Maitri in the north to Arunachal Pradesh in the far east making up most of India's eastern borders]] India's entire north and northeast states are made up of the Himalayan Range. The rest of northern, central and eastern India consists of the fertile Indo-Gangetic plain. Towards western India, bordering southeast Pakistan, lies the Thar Desert. The southern Indian peninsula is almost entirely composed of the Deccan plateau. The plateau is flanked by two hilly coastal ranges, the Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats. India is home to several major rivers such as the Ganga (Ganges), the Brahmaputra, the Yamuna, the