Hostile Neighbors: Threats to a nation inside its region
Mongolia: Racism Against Chinese
In recent years, hostilities against foreign workers, especially Chinese, have risen in Mongolia. This has sparked the formation of a neo-Nazi group, known as the White Swastikas. While they do not condone ethnic cleansing, they are ultra-nationalist, who seek to preserve the national identity in a country of only three million. These groups are being held responsible for the majority of the violence. However, law enforcement officials often side with Mongolians, leaving Chinese workers to fend for themselves. The attacks have led to some tension between Mongolia and China, but no major governmental action has been taken.
For this reason, I give Mongolia a 7 for hostile neighbors.
For this reason, I give Mongolia a 7 for hostile neighbors.
Israel: Entire Middle East
Historically, Israel has had hostile relations with the Islamic states of the Middle East. The most violent tension is between Israel and Palestine, and deals with land that is considered by each group righteously theirs. The past decade has been filled with attacks by each state on the other. After a series of bombing attacks rattled Jerusalem on the 23rd of March, which was the first major Palestinian attack in two years, Defense Minister Ehud Barak promised that Israel "will not tolerate the harming of Israeli citizens, not in the south and not in Jerusalem. Hamas is responsible for the firing of rockets toward Be'er Sheva today and this responsibility has a price." This hostility is likely to continue until a treaty removing one group from such close proximity to the other or one equally dividing the Gaza Strip and the West Bank is reached.
Israel currently has a significantly strained relationship with Iran and Syria as well. Both of these countries have aided the Hamas and Hezbollah war against Israel. Recently, a Iranian ship containing arms and manuals in Farsi was intercepted by Israeli forces. The weapons were more advanced than those that Hamas was believed to previously have access to. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, sparked international outrage with his call for the extermination of the Israeli state. These tensions are result from long-standing, faith-based issues and are therefore unlikely to diffuse in the coming years.
For the very strong hostilities surrounding the country, I give Israel a 0 for hostile neighbors.
Israel currently has a significantly strained relationship with Iran and Syria as well. Both of these countries have aided the Hamas and Hezbollah war against Israel. Recently, a Iranian ship containing arms and manuals in Farsi was intercepted by Israeli forces. The weapons were more advanced than those that Hamas was believed to previously have access to. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, sparked international outrage with his call for the extermination of the Israeli state. These tensions are result from long-standing, faith-based issues and are therefore unlikely to diffuse in the coming years.
For the very strong hostilities surrounding the country, I give Israel a 0 for hostile neighbors.
