Geopolitical Hotspots

Why This Matters

Geopolitical hotspots aren't random—they emerge from predictable patterns that AP Human Geography loves to test. You're being tested on your ability to identify why conflicts occur where they do: the interplay of territorial disputes, resource competition, ethnic nationalism, colonial legacies, and strategic chokepoints. These concepts show up repeatedly in multiple-choice questions and form the backbone of FRQ responses about political boundaries, state sovereignty, and supranational challenges.

Understanding these hotspots means recognizing the geographic principles at work: centrifugal forces that pull states apart, irredentism that drives territorial claims, and chokepoint geography that makes certain waterways globally critical. Don't just memorize which countries are fighting—know what concept each conflict illustrates. A question about Kashmir might really be testing your understanding of superimposed boundaries, while a question about the South China Sea is probing your grasp of exclusive economic zones and maritime law.

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Strategic Chokepoints and Maritime Disputes

Control of narrow waterways and shipping lanes creates some of the world's most persistent tensions. When global trade depends on a single passage, whoever controls that passage holds enormous leverage.

Strait of Hormuz

• 20% of global oil shipments pass through this 21-mile-wide chokepoint—any disruption sends energy markets into chaos
• Iran's geographic position gives it leverage over Gulf Arab states and Western powers dependent on oil flows
• Freedom of navigation disputes here test the limits of international maritime law and U.S. military presence in the region

South China Sea

• $5 trillion in annual trade transits these waters, making it the world's most economically significant maritime route
• China's nine-dash line claim conflicts with UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) and overlaps with claims from Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei
• Island-building and militarization demonstrate how states create de facto territorial control despite international legal rulings against them

Spratly Islands

• Strategic location along major shipping lanes makes these tiny islands disproportionately valuable for military positioning
• Overlapping EEZ claims from six countries illustrate how exclusive economic zones create conflict when maritime boundaries intersect
• Artificial island construction by China represents a new form of territorial expansion—creating land to claim sea

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Divided Nations and Irredentist Claims

Some hotspots exist because a nation (cultural group) is split across political boundaries, or because states claim territory based on historical or ethnic ties. Irredentism—the desire to reclaim "lost" territory—drives some of the world's most intractable conflicts.

Taiwan Strait

• China's "One China" policy treats Taiwan as a breakaway province, while Taiwan functions as a de facto independent state with its own government, military, and economy
• Strategic ambiguity from the U.S. has historically deterred conflict, but increased military exercises signal rising tensions
• Semiconductor manufacturing—Taiwan produces over 60% of the world's chips—adds economic stakes to the political dispute

Korean Peninsula

• Superimposed boundary at the 38th parallel divided a single nation after WWII, creating one of the clearest examples of a relic boundary becoming a fortified frontier
• North Korea's nuclear program transforms a regional dispute into a global security concern, illustrating how centrifugal forces can have international consequences
• DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) represents the world's most heavily fortified border—a boundary that functions as a barrier rather than a transition zone

Cyprus

• Ethnic partition between Greek Cypriots (south) and Turkish Cypriots (north) since 1974 demonstrates how ethnic nationalism can permanently fracture a state
• Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is recognized only by Turkey—a textbook example of a de facto state without international legitimacy
• EU membership of the Republic of Cyprus complicates reunification, as any agreement must reconcile EU law with Turkish interests

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Post-Soviet Territorial Conflicts

The collapse of the Soviet Union left behind contested borders, ethnic enclaves, and frozen conflicts that continue to destabilize Eurasia. These hotspots illustrate how imperial collapse creates power vacuums and irredentist opportunities.

Ukraine-Russia Border

• Russia's 2022 invasion followed the 2014 annexation of Crimea and represents the largest conventional war in Europe since WWII
• NATO expansion eastward is cited by Russia as a security threat, illustrating how buffer states remain strategically significant
• Humanitarian crisis including millions of refugees demonstrates how territorial conflicts create centrifugal forces that affect neighboring states

Crimea

• 2014 annexation by Russia violated Ukraine's territorial integrity and triggered international sanctions—a clear example of irredentism based on ethnic Russian population
• Sevastopol naval base gives Russia warm-water port access to the Black Sea and Mediterranean, explaining the peninsula's strategic value
• Referendum legitimacy remains disputed—Russia claims democratic mandate while Ukraine and Western states call it illegal occupation

Nagorno-Karabakh

• Armenian-majority enclave within Azerbaijan's borders created conflict when Soviet-era boundaries didn't match ethnic distributions
• 2020 war resulted in Azerbaijani territorial gains, demonstrating how frozen conflicts can suddenly reignite
• Russian peacekeepers and Turkish support for Azerbaijan show how regional powers use local conflicts to extend influence

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Resource Competition and Climate Change

Access to natural resources—especially energy and water—drives conflicts that will intensify as climate change reshapes geography. These hotspots show how environmental factors create geopolitical stakes.

Persian Gulf

• World's largest oil reserves make this region central to global energy security and great power competition
• Iran-Saudi rivalry represents a sectarian (Shia-Sunni) and geopolitical contest for regional dominance
• U.S. military presence aims to ensure freedom of navigation and protect allied Gulf states, illustrating how superpowers project power to secure resources

Arctic Region

• Climate change is opening the Northwest Passage and Northern Sea Route, creating new shipping lanes and access to previously unreachable resources
• Territorial claims by Russia, Canada, the U.S., Denmark, and Norway overlap under UNCLOS rules for continental shelf extension
• Indigenous rights and environmental protection add layers of complexity beyond traditional state sovereignty disputes

Kashmir

• Water resources from Himalayan glaciers feed the Indus River system, making this region critical for agriculture in both India and Pakistan
• Three wars (1947, 1965, 1999) plus ongoing skirmishes along the Line of Control demonstrate how disputed boundaries become militarized frontiers
• Revocation of Article 370 by India in 2019 changed Kashmir's autonomous status, intensifying tensions and raising human rights concerns

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East Asian Maritime Disputes

Overlapping claims in East Asian waters combine historical grievances, resource competition, and great power rivalry. These disputes test the limits of international maritime law.

East China Sea (Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands)

• Uninhabited islands claimed by both Japan and China, with Taiwan also asserting rights—demonstrating how even tiny territories carry symbolic and strategic weight
• Fishing grounds and potential hydrocarbons provide economic incentives beyond nationalist sentiment
• U.S.-Japan security alliance means any conflict could draw in American forces, raising the stakes of naval confrontations

Kuril Islands

• WWII legacy—Soviet forces seized the islands in 1945, and no peace treaty has been signed between Russia and Japan
• Strategic military value for controlling access between the Sea of Okhotsk and Pacific Ocean explains Russia's refusal to negotiate
• Economic potential including fishing rights and possible energy reserves keeps Japan pressing its claim despite decades of stalemate

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Ethno-Religious Conflicts and Colonial Legacies

Some hotspots trace directly to boundaries drawn by colonial powers without regard for ethnic or religious distributions. These conflicts illustrate how superimposed boundaries create lasting instability.

Israel-Palestine

• Competing claims to the same territory based on historical, religious, and national identity make this conflict uniquely intractable
• Key issues—borders, Jerusalem's status, right of return for Palestinian refugees, and Israeli settlements—have resisted decades of negotiation
• Superimposed boundaries from the 1948 UN partition plan and subsequent wars created a patchwork of control that satisfies neither side

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Quick Reference Table

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Self-Check Questions

1. Which two hotspots best illustrate irredentism based on ethnic populations, and how do they differ in outcome?

2. If an FRQ asks you to explain how chokepoint geography affects global trade, which three locations would you use, and what distinguishes each?

3. Compare the Taiwan Strait and Korean Peninsula as examples of divided nations—what Cold War dynamics created each situation, and how do their current political statuses differ?

4. How does the Arctic region demonstrate the relationship between climate change and emerging geopolitical competition? What makes it different from established resource conflicts like the Persian Gulf?

5. Identify two hotspots where superimposed boundaries from colonial or post-war decisions created lasting conflict. What geographic or demographic factors did the boundary-makers ignore?