There are consequences of disunity within nations

Nationalist Movements

• Many nations face internal pressures from regions wanting independence from the
  • This pressure comes from political movements motivated by nationalism for the new state. There is often an ethnic dimension to this and/or a cultural distinctiveness language.
  • Can also be due to a region being geographically peripheral
• Nation states sometimes respond more sympathetically by devolving powers to the region Scotland in the UK. Many people in Scotland still want independence, however and this has caused great division between its population, especially regarding politics

Scottish independence nationalist movements

Political Tensions in Emerging Countries (BRICs)

• The uneven pattern of the costs and benefits of globalisation have caused resentment in disadvantaged nations such as the BRICs
  • These problems are made worse by weak government institutions in some of these economies, meaning that there is little control over corruption, pollution and crime | COUNTRY | ISSUES | |---|---| | Brazil | ● The plight of indigenous tribes facing land-grabbing from deforestation
    ● Unease at the cost of the 2016 Olympic games and 2014 World Cup considering the country was struggling with crime, corruption, the Zika virus and rising food prices at the time | | Russia | ● Several nations have concerns, from nomadic reindeer hunters in the N, to Chechnya in the S • the latter became violent in the 1990s | | India | ● Kashmir in the NW is a difficult area to control • disputed w/ Pakistan
    ● Several separatist movements in the NE of the country (eg. Tripura, Nagaland and Mizoram) | | China | ● Separatist pressures exist in Tibet, and in the West where the Uyghur ethnic group lives
    ● Internally, w/ a lot of rural to urban migration, the hukou system has resulted in migrants not having full rights when they move to Urban areas |

Failed States

The role of the state varies and national identity is not always strong

• In failed states, there are vast differences between the political and economically powerful elites, foreign investment groups and the wider population
  • A Failed State is where the political and economic systems are very weak and ultimately, the government loses control over its territory, has no authority to make decisions for the country and cannot provide public Any sense of national identity is usually lost as the country divides into warring groups - which are often ethnic and/or religious.
• Commonly in failed states there is low life expectancy, social unrest, poor education and healthcare systems, widespread poverty and high
• Often, failed states occur due to war and conflict damaging remaining infrastructure and services, resulting in dire living conditions and drastic outward
  • In Yemen, an uprising against the government in 2011 was followed by a separatist movement in the North. Military elites backed by different regional powers battled for control in a civil war, resulting in a crisis with 8 million suffering famine, 16 million without clean water and 1 million victims of cholera (the worst cholera epidemic ever recorded)