Conflict and Peace7th Grade UBD - Unit 6 – Conflict and Peace

Preview

Political Boundaries- Borders are used to form a variety of political units, such as nations, counties, and cities. Borders affect the relationship between those places.

Causes of Conflict- Conflicts between and within countries happen for many different reasons.

Peacekeeping Efforts- Nations use various methods to achieve peace between countries.

Reach Into Your Background

War has plagued humankind for thousands of years. War go back to the beginning of recorded time and continue into this century. Answer the following questions. Why do you think countries go to war? How do you think wars could be avoided? (5 minutes)

Partner ActivityWork with a

neighbor and compare your answers with theirs. What things are the same and what things are different? (3 minutes)

Key Ideas- Political Boundaries

Borders are used to define the limits of individual countries or regions.

There are three types of borders: political, physical, and cultural.

There are generally three types of border controls: open, controlled, and closed.

Political MapsVideo- Political Maps

Political Boundaries

Most people count their national identity as one of the most important parts of their identity, along with religion, race, gender, and language.

National identities often depend on imaginary lines between groups of people, and these lines are often changed, ignored, and fought over.  

Political Boundaries

Political boundaries, or borders, mark different countries and global regions.

Within a nation, states, provinces, counties, and cities are also marked by borders.

These borders can be physical or political. 

Key Term

Border- The official legal boundary of a country or state.

Different Types of Borders 

Physical boundaries include rivers, mountain ranges, and oceans.

Political borders are imaginary lines drawn by the people of different nations to distinguish their lands.

Many nations use a combination of physical and political borders. 

Different Types of Borders 

Whether they are physical or political, borders both unite and separate people. A nation’s border unites within it people who speak the same language(s) and share the same cultural history and political identity.

At the same time, that national border also separates its people from others who do not share those things.

Different Types of Borders  Most borders are

created for political reasons, the ideal that each nation’s people will have a shared identity is not always realized. 

Different Types of Borders  Sometimes people of

different ethnic groups, cultural histories, religions, and languages are forced together into one nation where they live in uneasy tension.

Open Borders

Some nations guard their borders lightly, requiring travelers to show only a photo ID or a passport to cross. These are called open borders. Most of these nations are within the European Union.

Key Term

Passport- A legal document issued to an individual by his or her national government. It certifies the holder of the passport is a citizen of the issuing country. 

Controlled Borders

Some nations have controlled borders, which means that anyone who wants to enter or leave the country faces heavy restrictions that make it difficult to do so.

Closed Borders

Finally, some nations have closed borders: no one may enter or leave the country. North Korea is an example of a closed-border nation.

Key Ideas- Causes of Conflict

Wars are often fought over scarce resources such as oil or water.

Some wars are fought over principles or religious differences.

Some wars are fought by countries defending against attack.

Most wars result from a combination of reasons. An alliance is a formal agreement between two or

more countries.

Alliances

Borders can represent alliances and political ideas as well as nations or peoples.

Economic and political associations provide an identity for the nations that join them.

Alliances

In Europe, the European Union and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are two such political organizations, each with 27 member nations. 

Alliances

These alliances can be drawn on a map of Europe with a political border. Some alliances are temporary; during World War II, the map of Europe could have shown a division between Axis-controlled nations and Allied-controlled nations.

Key Ideas- Peacekeeping Efforts

War is a constant problem in the world. Therefore, it is important to know why nations go to war to help prevent it from happening. It is also important to know how diplomacy and intergovernmental organizations can help to achieve peaceful solutions.

Peaceful Negotiations

Whether acting on their own or as part of an organization or alliance, nations will work to prevent or end conflict through diplomacy, or communication and negotiation between warring groups.

Sometimes different nations will have a meeting, called a summit, to discuss problems and try to find a diplomatic solution to them.

Key Term

Summit- A conference of heads of state or other prominent government officials.  

Intergovernmental Organizations

Sometimes these solutions involve changing national borders or creating new nations. Whatever the agreement may be, it is called a treaty.

When the nations involved in a conflict cannot reach an agreement, international organizations such as the United Nations (UN) or the African Union (AU) will step in to hold a summit and reach an agreement.  

History of War

Whether fought over resources, land or ideological differences, wars have shaped and reshaped the map of the planet, creating or destroying entire nations.

Weapons of War

During World War I, machine guns, tanks and chemical weapons were unleashed on the battlefields of Europe.

Three decades later, World War II witnessed the birth of the atomic bomb, which marked the beginning of the nuclear age.

In recent years, keeping casualties to a minimum through targeted weapons and unmanned aircraft.

Women and War

Wars have indirectly opened up opportunities for marginalized groups, including women.

Although many nations still bar them from participating in combat duties, women have served their countries during numerous major conflicts.

Women and War

Women such as Florence Nightingale faced the horrors of war to treat wounded soldiers, and in doing so established nursing as a profession.

During World War II, 350,000 American women joined the war effort at home and abroad in more than 200 different non-combatant positions.

Rosie The RiveterVideo- Rosie The Riveter by The Four Vagabonds

Women and War

Today there are more than 400,000 women in the U.S. Armed Forces.

In 2008 Ann Elizabeth Dunwoody became the first woman to achieve the U.S. Army rank of four-star general.

Key Term

World War I- A global war centered in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918.

Key Term

Alliance- An agreement among people or nations to unite for a common cause.

Key Term

Adolf Hitler- The founder and leader of the Nazi Party and the most influential voice in the organization, implementation and execution of the Holocaust.

Key Term

Fascism- A philosophy that supports astrong, central government controlledby the military and led bya powerful dictator.

Key Term

Holocaust- The systematic extermination and ethnic cleansing of six million European Jews and millions of other non-aryans.

Key Term

World War II- A global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945.

Key Term

NATO- An international organization composed of the US, Canada, Britain, and a number of European countries for purposes of collective security.

Europe at WarReading Handout- Europe at War

Independent Activity

What has been the

“muddiest” point so

far in this lesson? That

is, what topic remains

the least clear to you?

(4 minutes)

Partner Activity Work with a

neighbor and compare your muddiest point with theirs. Compare what things are the same and what things are different? (3 minutes)