ASIA
1. RUSSIA
Member , “Partnership for Peace”
 Member UN Security Council
 Confirmed nuclear weapons capability, world’s
largest nuclear arsenal
 The US’ enemy during the Cold War
 Unstable, semi-democratic government
 Large reserves of oil, other resources
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2. CHINA (PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA)
World’s most populous country
 Confirmed nuclear weapons capability
 World’s 3rd largest economy, fastest growing
economy
 #2 trade partner of the US
 Liberalizing Communist regime
 Member, UN Security Council
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3. INDIA
Member of the G20
 2nd most populous nation
 Growing economy
 Confirmed nuclear capability
 Long-running enmity with neighbor Pakistan
over Kashmir region
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4. SRI LANKA
From 1983 to 2009, there was an on-and-off civil
war against the government by the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a separatist
militant organization.
 Both the Sri Lankan government and LTTE have
been accused of various human rights violations.
 On May 19, 2009, the President of Sri Lanka
officially claimed an end to the insurgency and
the defeat of the LTTE
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5.BURMA (MYANMAR)
Ruled by repressive military Junta since the
1960’s
 Accused of numerous human rights abuses
 Aug 2009 government fought against ethnic
minorities in “Kokang Incident”. Thousands of
Burmans fled to China

6. VIETNAM
Former French colony. Communist forces under
HoChi Minh fought to take control of the country
from the 1950’s-1970’s.
 The US became involved in Vietnam in the
1950’s, escalating into the 1960’s, early 1970’s.
Considered one of the most disastrous of all US
wars.
 Country taken by the communists in 1975, still
communist, but slowly liberalizing, expanding
the economy.
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7. INDONESIA
Member of the G20
 Largest economy in SE Asia
 Largest population of Muslims outside of the
middle east
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8. TAIWAN (REPUBLIC OF CHINA)
Original holder of “China” seat on the security
Council
 Not recognized by the PRC as a separate country,
periodic periods of tension between PRC and
ROC
 High-performing economy
 US has pledged to protect ROC

9. JAPAN
Member of G8,G20
 World’s 2nd largest economy
 Technically has no army due to provisions of
treaty after WWII, has a “Self- Defense Force”
(SDF, JSDF) instead
 Populous country with aging population, fears
change in demographics will slow economy
 #4 trade partner with US
 Depends on US military protection
 March 2011 tsunami seriously damaged a large
part of the nation, caused worst nuclear
powerplant accidents since 1986’s Chernobyl
incident

10. SOUTH KOREA
Korea divided along the 38th parallel, South
Korea is a capitalist democracy
 Fast-growing economy
 Member of G20, last year’s chair
 UN troops still stationed along the 38th parallel
 7th largest trade partner for US

11. NORTH KOREA
World’s only hard-line Stalinist communist
regime
 Leadership currently in transition
 Most recently confirmed nuclear-capable state
 Seen as a “rogue” state by most of the world
community
 Extremely poor, closed society and economy

12. CAMBODIA
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Ruled by the Khmer Rouge regime from 1975-1991one of the world’s most bloody and extreeme
communist/totalitarian regimes
Khmer Rouge immediately evacuated the cities and
sent the entire population on forced marches to rural
work projects. They attempted to rebuild the
country's agriculture on the model of the 11th
century, discarded Western medicine, and destroyed
temples, libraries, and anything considered Western.
Over a million Cambodians, out of a total population
of 8 million, died from executions, overwork,
starvation and disease.
Estimates as to how many people were killed by the
Khmer Rouge regime range from approximately one
to three million.This era gave rise to the term “Killing
Fields”
AFRICA
1. LIBYA “GREAT SOCIALIST PEOPLE'S
LIBYAN ARAB JAMAHIRIYA”
Muammar al-Kadafi (Quadafai, Gaddafi) took
over via a coup in 1969, recent “Arab Spring”
uprising and resultant civil war has divided the
country between Kadafi’s regime and The
Benghazi-based National Transitional Council,
led by Mustafa Abdul Jalil, controls most of the
eastern half of the country. It uses short-form
name Libya for the Libyan state, but has also on
occasion referred to it in the long-form as the
Libyan Republic
 Kadafi’s regime has been linked to terrorism,
tense relationship with the US
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2. EGYPT
Although ostensibly democratic, Egypt had been
ruled by the same president, Hosni Mubarik
since 1981 until he was ousted in March of 2011
 Home and head of the Arab League
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3.SUDAN

Home to the Darfur region, where a conflict
between government sponsored militias and local
tribes has been ongoing since the early 1990’s.
4. ETHIOPIA
Faced severe drought and famine in the 1970’s
and 80’s, is facing drought conditions again.
 Transitioned from a communist regime to a
nominally democratic one in the early 1990’s, but
is considered a de fact o one party state due to
the ruling party’s repression of opposition groups

5. SOMALIA
Civil war in the 1990’s prompted US intervention
in the area. After suffering losses, the US pulled
out.
 Somalia has continued to engage in civil war. As
off 2009, a provisional government was
attempting to reunify the warring parties.
 Somalia is the home base for many pirates that
operate in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean
 Somalia is now facing famine conditions in many
regions
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6. LIBERIA
Founded by freed American slaves sent back to
Africa in 1847. (Liberia- from “liberty”, capital
city “Monrovia” from the name of then-president
Monroe.)
 Civil wars in 1989 and 1999 resulted in chaos
and rampant human-rights abuses
 Security situation in the region is precarious, and
the economy is very fragile

7. COTE D’ IVOIRE (IVORY COAST)
Source of much of the cocoa used in world-wide
chocolate manufacture- often farmed by child
slave labor
 Though one of the most prosperous of the
Western African nations, civil war in the late 90’s
early 2000’s have caused instability politically
and economically. The warring parties in Cote
d’Ivoire were infamous for using child soldiers in
the conflicts.
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8. NIGERIA
One of the fastest growing economies in the world
 2nd largest economy in Africa
 The regional power of West Africa
 Current Non-permanent member of the UN
security Council
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9. DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
(FORMERLY KNOWN AS ZAIRE)
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The Second Congo War, beginning in 1998,
devastated the country, involved seven foreign
armies and is sometimes referred to as the
"African World War". Despite the signing of
peace accords in 2003, fighting continues in the
east of the country. In eastern Congo, the
prevalence of rape and other sexual violence is
described as the worst in the world. The war is
the world's deadliest conflict since World War II,
killing 5.4 million people.
10. UGANDA
Home to dictator Idi Amin, who ruled for
approximately eight years in the 1970’s and
murdered approximately 300,000 people while in
office
 Human rights conditions have improved since the
1980’s, but reports of involvement of Ugandan
guerilla groups in the Congo conflict are ongoing
 One of the few countries hard hit by HIV/AIDS in
Africa to successfully combat the disease
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11. KENYA
Site of the 1998 bombing of the US Embassy
perpetrated by followers of Osama bin-Laden
 One of the most promising developing economies
in Africa
 Home to the father (now deceased) of US
President Obama
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12. SOUTH AFRICA
Member of the G20
 Strongest country economically and politically in
Africa
 Official policy of racial segregation “Apartheid”
ended in 1994
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RWANDA
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Site of the Rwandan
Genocide of the
1990’s- between the
“Hutu” and Tutsi”
tribes, which were
arbitrary creations of
the Belgian colonists.
THE MIDDLE EAST
1. TURKEY
Negotiating to become a full member of the EU
 Regional power in the Middle East
 Member of the G20
 Strategically important ally to the US
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2. ISRAEL
Historically significant for Abrahimic religions
 Currently engaged in long-running tensions with
the Arab world
 Undeclared nuclear power
 Strong US ally
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3. LEBANON
Suffered a destabilizing civil war in the 70’s and
80’s
 Engaged in constant disputes with Israel
 Home to Hezbollah, a Shiia political and
paramilitary organization
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4, SYRIA
Involved in the Arab opposition to Israel
 Increasingly authoritarian government
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5. IRAQ
US fought against Iraq in Gulf War I in early
1990’s after Iraq invaded Kuwait
 US invaded Iraq in 2003, deposed the leader
Saddam Hussien
 US is currently occupying Iraq, US forces slated
to leave Iraq by the end of 2011
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6, IRAN
Fundamentalist Shiia Islamic theocracy
established in 1979 after the former leader- the
US backed Shah of Iran- was deposed and fled
the country
 Currently undergoing a period of internal unrest
 Long-standing enmity between Iran and the US
 Currently working on a nuclear program that
may include weapons-grade nuclear material
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7. PAKISTAN
Confirmed nuclear power
 Going through a period of internal instability
 A reluctant US ally in the Invasions of Iraq and
Afghanistan
 Home to branches of the Al-Qaeda terror network
 US currently launching attacks against terror
cells in Pakistan
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8. AFGHANISTAN
Constant turmoil since the Soviet invasion in
1979
 After the Soviets left, militant islamists backed
by the US- Mujahedeen- took over, established a
fundamentalist islamist state
 The islamist government of Afghanistan, the
Taliban, harbored islamist terror groups,
including al-Quaeda
 The US invaded Afghanistan post 9/11, has
recently increased commitment to troop levels in
the area
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9. SAUDI ARABIA
Home to the two holiest sites in Islam- Mecca and
Medina
 World’s largest petroleum exporter
 Member of OPEC – Organization of Oil Exporting
Countries- the world’s largest oil cartel that has
an instrumental role in setting world oil prices
 Reluctant US ally
 Heavily connected to Islamist terror groups
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10. JORDAN
Involved in the Arab opposition to Israel
 Target of recent terrorist attacks
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11. UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (UAE)
High income
 developing country
 Member of OPEC
 City of Dubai is emerging as a global financial
center
 Ally of the US during invasion of Afghanistan
and Iraq
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