H3 NUS Geopolitics 2018 Examination

National University of Singapore DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY GEH 1022: GEOPOLITICS: GEOGRAPHIES OF WAR AND PEACE SEMESTER 2: 2018/2019 EXAMINER: DR CARL GRUNDY-WARR 30 APRIL 2019 (1PM) TIME ALLOWED: 2 HOURS INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES 1. Please write your student number only. Do not write your name. 2. This examination paper contains SEVEN questions and comprises fourteen printed pages. 3. Answer any THREE questions. 4. Start each question on a new page. Please write legibly. 5. This is a CLOSED BOOK examination.

GEH1022 Page 2 of 14 ANSWER ANY THREE QUESTIONS 1. Define what is meant by practical, formal, and popular geopolitics. Using Figures 1, 2 and 3, critically examine how and why these three dimensions of geopolitics help us to examine the Cold War era. Figure 1 Cartoon of Winston Churchill having a peek under the so-called “Iron Curtain.” Daily Mail, 6 June, 1946, by cartoonist Leslie Illingworth, Associated Newspaper / Solo Syndication, London. Source: https://www.cvce.eu/en/obj/cartoon_by_illingworth_on_winston_churchill_s_address_in_ fulton_concerning_the_iron_curtain_6_march_1946-en-a60548a8-6ede-46de-be9b- 6712187ae63d.html

GEH1022 Page 3 of 14 Figure 2 Still from the Stanley Kubrick 1964 movie, Dr Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. Source: https://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/features/celebrating-kubrick-dr- strangelove-50 Figure 3 US Secretary of Defence, Robert S. McNamara, in a midnight meeting at the Pentagon, points out action in the Gulf of Tonkin, August 4, 1964. Bob Schutz / AP. Source: https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/gulf-of-tonkin/

GEH1022 Page 4 of 14 2. Refer to Figures 4 and 5 as examples, plus any other case drawn from this module, critically examine the concept of human territoriality in relation to specific geopolitical contexts. Figure 4 A figure relating to the work of forensic architect, Eyal Weizman. Source: http://www.uncubemagazine.com/blog/14190357 Figure 5 Palestinian women attempt to pass the Israeli checkpoint at the West Bank town of Bethlehem, August 12, 2011. Photograph by Bernat Armangue, AP Photo. Source: https://israelpalestinenews.org/associated-press-double-standard-israel- palestine-reporting/

GEH1022 Page 5 of 14 3. Nationalist notions of “homeland” are frequently based upon strong emotional attachments to territory . Discuss this statement, with reference to figures 6 and 7, and your own examples. Figure 6 A Kosovar Albanian man celebrates Kosovo’s independence wearing a “Bye Bye Serbia” jacket. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/1830796.html Figure 7 Scene from the Wagah border ceremony. Punjab Rangers and the Indian Border Security Force personnel perform the “flag off” ceremony in front of huge crowds at the Pakistan – India Wagah border post. Photo: AFP. Source: https://tribune.com.pk/story/1699904/1-indian-travelers-weapon-goes- undetected-wagah-due-power-failure/

GEH1022 Page 6 of 14 4. Critically examine why international boundaries are central to the definition, surveillance, and treatment of refugees, migrants and displaced persons. Refer to Figures 8, 9 and 10, and relevant cases drawn from this module to help illustrate your answer. Figure 8 A migrant family, part of a caravan of thousands travelling from Central America to the United States, run away from tear gas in front of the border wall between the US and Mexico in Tijuana, Mexico, on 25 November 2018. Photo by Kim Kung Hoon, Reuters. Source: http://time.com/5464560/caravan-mexico-border-iconic-photo/

GEH1022 Page 7 of 14 Figure 9 A refugee orphanage at Camp 2, Ban Nai Soi, Mae Hong Son, Thailand, near the border with Myanmar. Photo taken in late 1990s by Carl Grundy-Warr. Figure 10 A boy (part of a large group of migrants) takes part in a protest at the northern Greek border station at Idomeni. Photo by AP Photo / Petros Giannakouris. Source: https://www.thenation.com/article/is-the-european-union-unraveling-before- our-eyes/)

GEH1022 Page 8 of 14 5. Films and images provide provocative “windows” into complex geopolitical situations and help us to re-examine past geopolitical events. Discuss this statement, using figures 1 1 – 14 as a guide and drawing upon relevant assignments and classes in this module. Figure 11 South Vietnamese woman and child being evacuated by helicopter during the war in Vietnam. Photo by Nick Ut, Associated Press. Source: https://nationalpost.com/news/world/the-extraordinary-photos-of-nick-ut- famous-for-napalm-girl-picture-as-he-leaves-his-job-of-51-years Figure 12 A still from the film Hearts and Minds, 1974, by Peter Davis. Source: https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/213-hearts-and-minds-the-human- connection

GEH1022 Page 9 of 14 Figure 13 A scene from Rithy Panh’s film “The Missing Picture” in which clay figures are used to help tell the story about the Khmer Rouge era in Cambodia. Credit: Bophana Centre, via Associated Press. Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/19/movies/the-missing-picture-rithy- panhs-look-at-1970s-cambodia.html Figure 14 Thet Sambath sits behind Nuon Chea, former Brother Number 2 of the Khmer Rouge, in the documentary film Enemies of the People (2009) written and directed by Rob Lemkin and Thet Sambath.

GEH1022 Page 10 of 14 6. With reference to Figures 17, 18 and 19, discuss why ecological geopolitics requires us to think about the traditional geopolitics of national spaces as well as to think beyond the administrative boxes of national and territorial sovereignty. Figure 17 Arctic sea ice coverage has been on the decline since scientists started monitoring its extent with satellites in 1979. The lowest extent on record was reached on Sept. 16, 2012, and it was approximately half the size of the average extent from 1979 to 2000. These maps show the minimum extent of Arctic sea ice in October of 1979 and 2013 as observed by satellite. October is typically the global maximum for sea ice, though it is just past the minimum in the Arctic. Credit: NASA's Earth Observatory/Joshua Stevens and Jesse Allen. Source: https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2237/study-shows-global-sea-ice-diminishing- despite-antarctic-gains/