Reasons for Tensions

 Sometimes territories have ge0-strategic importance (access to water, important trade routes) or natural resources (to feed population or for economic gain)

 Suez Canal Crisis 1956 (Egypt vs Israel) France and Canada

 Societies are not homogeneous. Populations are composed of different cultures and sometimes this results in ethnic, religious, or linguistic tensions.

 Rwanda Genocide (1994)

 Self-Determination: principle that all people have the right to rule themselves and make decisions that concern them.  Sometimes colonized people or minorities demand greater political power because their views are not represented by their government.  Some wish to create their own state either democratically or by force.

Basque People of Spain and France

 Europe post-WWI: Self-Determination

 Beyond ethnic or religious differences, ideological tensions occur when people disagree on the type of government or economic system to be implemented  Ex: USSR and USA during the Cold War

 When state’s abuse certain rights of their citizens, tensions can arise. Some Principle Human Rights:  The right to life, liberty, and security  Freedom of thought, expression, religion, and association  Equality before the law  The right to paid work and social security  The right to education  The right to privacy

 Political Freedoms in the Soviet Union were limited as no one could speak against the communist party, religious beliefs and literary expression were also monitored  Secret Police enforced the laws