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Venezuela Joins Mercosur, Paraguay Suspended

Map of intergovernmental organizations in South America: Mercosur, the Andean Community, and UNASUR (Venezuela and Paraguy indicated)
South America’s intergovernmental organizations: Mercosur in green, the Andean Community (CAN) in (orange), and remaining members of UNASUR in blue (claimed territorial extents). Map by Evan Centanni, based on this map by Wikimedia user Luan.

After over six years of waiting, Venezuela today officially joined Mercosur (the “Southern Common Market”), one of South America’s two main trade blocs.

The country was previously part of the continent’s other major bloc, the Andean Community (CAN), but left that organization last year in anticipation of the switch to Mercosur (see Venezuela Leaves Andean Community).

By the time the Venezuela left CAN last year, its application had finally been approved by all Mercosur member states except for Paraguay; but despite support from that country’s president, an opposition party in its congress continued to block Venezuela’s entry into the trade organization.

That all changed last month, when Paraguay’s government was overthrown in a political spectacle that many denounced as a thinly veiled coup. The country’s membership in Mercosur was suspended as a result, and the rest of the organization quickly took advantage of Paraguay’s absence to vote Venezuela into the group. Full membership for the newcomer was scheduled to enter effect on July 31, 2012.

Flag of VenezuelaCountry Name:  
• Venezuela (English, Spanish)
Official Name:  
• Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (English)
• República Bolivariana de Venezuela (Spanish)
Capital: Caracas

Mercosur was founded in 1994 by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, with Venezuela today becoming the first new full member (several other South American countries are “associate members” or observers). Integration within the bloc includes a customs union (free movement of goods across borders) as well as economic and judicial coordination between member states.

The countries of both Mercosur and the Andean Community also belong to the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), a broader organization that includes all of the continent’s sovereign states. Mercosur and UNASUR are the abbreviations based on the groups’ Spanish names, but they are also known by their Portuguese abbreviations, Mercosul and UNASUL.

Graphic of Venezuelan flag is in the public domain (source).

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London 2012: Which Countries Are (and Aren’t) in the Olympics?

This is an older version of our Parade of Nations article. Click here to see the newest edition!

The 2012 Summer Olympics in London begin tomorrow (July 27), and it wouldn’t be an Olympic opening ceremony without the Parade of Nations. But how many countries are there in the games, and is everyone included? Read on for an exclusive guide to the roster of Olympic Nations….

World map showing the five continental associations of National Olympic Committees, including all nations eligible for the Olympic games
The five continental associations representing the world’s Olympic Nations. Gold: Pan-American Sports Organization; Green: European Olympic Committees; Black: Olympic Council of Asia; Red: Oceania National Olympic Committees; Blue: Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa; Gray: non-member country or territory. Map by Evan Centanni, modified from public domain wiki map (source), and modeled after this Wikipedia map.


How many countries participate in the Olympics?
There are currently 204 recognized Olympic Nations, represented by a National Olympic Committee (NOC) in each country. The games are presided over by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the NOCs are divided among five continental associations (see map above). [1]

If 204 countries sounds like too many, don’t worry, you’re not going crazy. Indeed, the U.N. only recognizes 194 sovereign states in the world (see also: How Many Countries Are There in the World?). So what gives? Well, it turns out that the IOC has historically been more lax than the U.N. about the criteria for nationhood. Before 1995, some dependent territories were allowed to qualify for the Olympics, and were allowed to stay even after the rules changed. Today, there are ten such territories with Olympic Nation status:

World map marking dependent territories and partially recognized sovereign states which have recognized National Olympic Committees and are allowed by the IOC to participate in the Olympic Games
Click to enlarge: Dependent territories and partially recognized sovereign states admitted to the Olympics. By Evan Centanni, from public domain base map (source).

Americas
 Aruba (Netherlands)
 Bermuda (U.K.)
 British Virgin Islands (U.K.)
 Cayman Islands (U.K.)
 Puerto Rico (U.S.)
 Virgin Islands (U.S.)

Asia
 Hong Kong (China)

Oceania
 American Samoa (U.S.)
 Guam (U.S.)
 Cook Islands (New Zealand)

Besides those exceptions, qualifying as a nation usually requires recognition as a sovereign state by the U.N. However, in 1995 disputed Palestine was admitted for the sake of athletes in Gaza and the West Bank, the two semi-autonomous Palestinian Territories which are largely cut off from the main territory of Israel. And Taiwan, which is claimed by China but effectively ruled as an independent country by the pre-Communist Republic of China government, has also been allowed to participate – but only as long as it refers to itself as “Chinese Taipei”. [2]

Changes to the roster
In the last Summer Olympics in Beijing (2008), there were three new Olympic Nations: the Marshall Islands, Montenegro, and Tuvalu. But since then, no new countries have joined. In fact, one has been removed: the Netherlands Antilles, a Dutch dependency in the Caribbean, was ruled ineligible by the IOC last year after the territory was officially dissolved.

Map marking the location of the former Netherlands Antilles, just prior to the dissolution of the territory
Location of the former Netherlands Antilles. Public domain map (source).

Two of the five islands of the Netherlands Antilles are now separate Dutch territories, and the other three islands have joined the Netherlands proper. Since the IOC no longer admits dependent territories, none of the islands can rejoin under their new administrations, but the former territory’s team of three athletes will be allowed to participate independently under the Olympic flag for now. After 2012, they will need to qualify for the Netherlands team in order to join future games.

Which countries aren’t included in the Olympics?
Despite the inclusive and worldwide mission of the Olympic Games, not all of the world’s states are represented. In fact, two U.N.-recognized countries still haven’t joined: newly independent South Sudan has not yet formed an NOC, though one of its athletes has been accepted to compete under the Olympic flag this time; and U.N. observer state Vatican City, which perhaps doesn’t consider itself a “nation” (since it serves only as the headquarters of the Catholic Church), has never applied.

The ten dependent territories allowed to participate in the Olympics are only a select few, leaving most of the world’s overseas dependencies without their own teams (though athletes from the territories may attempt to qualify for their patron country’s team). And partially recognized or unrecognized states are not usually admitted, even if they are effectively independent. In fact, there are a number of National Olympic Committees which have been created locally but not recognized by the IOC:

World map marking sovereign states and dependent territories which do not have IOC-recognized National Olympic Committees, and are thus not allowed to send their own teams to the Olympics
Click to enlarge: Territories and sovereign states not represented in the Olympics. Light Blue: No NOC; Dark Blue: NOC not recognized by IOC. Also shown in dark blue outlines: subnational regions with unrecognized NOCs. By Evan Centanni, from public domain map (source).

Africa
 Somaliland (unrecognized sovereign state)

Americas
 Anguilla (U.K. territory)
 Montserrat (U.K. territory)
 Turks & Caicos (U.K. territory)

Asia
 Iraqi Kurdistan (autonomous region in Iraq)
 Macau (Special Administrative Region of China) [3]

Europe
 Abkhazia (partially recognized sovereign state)
 Catalonia (region of Spain)
 Gibraltar (U.K. territory)
 Kosovo (partially recognized sovereign state)
 Northern Cyprus (partially recognized sovereign state)

Oceania
 French Polynesia (French territory)
 New Caledonia (French territory)
 Niue (free associate state of New Zealand)
 Northern Mariana Islands (U.S. territory)

Which countries are attending the London 2012 Olympics?
It’s not uncommon for a few countries to miss the Olympic Games in a given year – a small country fails to field a team, a big country boycotts, or tropical countries skip the Winter Olympics – but the London 2012 games are special. This year, all 204 recognized Olympic Nations will be attending the games, resulting in one of the biggest international sports events in history. Wikipedia has a full list of the participating nations, complete with links to the rosters for each national team.

Number of athletes sent to the London 2012 Olympics by each participating country. Map by Foreston/Wikipedia (source). License: CC BY-SA

Now that you know the background on the Parade of Nations, you can watch the London 2012 opening ceremony and games with a new understanding of the political geography behind the sporting event – if you have any questions, post a comment or shoot me an e-mail!

Further info: 2012 Parade of Nations – ordered list of countries and flagbearers (Wikipedia)

Footnotes

[1] The five associations correspond closely to conventional definitions of the continents, but with a few quirks: Turkey, the Caucasus, and Israel are part of the European association despite being geographically in Asia; and the South American territory of French Guiana also falls under European jurisdiction, because it is considered an integral part of France and does not have a separate team.

[2] “Chinese Taipei” is intended to be ambiguous, since most Taiwanese people consider themselves to be at least culturally Chinese. However, the use of “Taipei” is somewhat unfortunate for the two-thirds of Taiwan’s people who do not live in or near Taipei City. This was especially awkward when the 2009 World Games (an Olympics-related event) were held in Kaohsiung, Taiwan – something of a rival city to Taipei. 

[3] Although Macau’s NOC is not recognized by the IOC itself, it has in fact been accepted as a member of the relevant continental organization, the Olympic Council of Asia. Macau has participated in the Paralympic Games but not in the regular Olympics.

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Syrian Uprising: Map Update 5

There are newer versions of this map available. To see them, view all Syria updates.

Political Geography Now presents an updated map of territorial division in Syria, where escalating violence is now referred to by the U.N. as a full-scale civil war. Read on for a rundown of recent events.

Map of rebel control in Syria's Civil War, updated for July 2012
Activity by rebel groups in Syria, marking areas of armed conflict as well as towns and cities held. Map by Evan Centanni, starting from this blank map by German Wikipedia user NordNordWest. License: CC BY-SA

Syrian Civil War

In the month since our previous Syria report, the Free Syrian Army (FSA), Syria’s main rebel group, has officially abandoned its failed ceasefire with government forces. This nominal change of stance has been presented as a response to continued massacres of Syrian civilians, for which government-supported militias are apparently to blame. Though even the FSA is only a loose organization of rebel cells, other groups have also joined the growing conflict, which the U.N. has begun calling a “civil war“.

Flag of Syria under the current governmentCountry Name:  
• Syria (English)
• Sūriyya/Sūryā (Arabic)
Official Name:  
• Syrian Arab Republic (English)
• al-Jumhūriyyah al-‘Arabīyah  as-Sūriyyah (Arabic)
Capital: Damascus

Rebels Show Strength in North
In the northwest of the country, rebels continue to control much of rural Idlib province, recently capturing the town of Armanaz, and apparently retaking the larger town of Saraqeb (Saraqib). The historical fortress of Qalaat al-Madiq is currently occupied by government forces, but the adjacent town is rebel-controlled.

Furthermore, the long plain extending north from Qalaat al-Madiq nearly to the Turkish border is now reportedly administered by the rebels as something of a parallel state. Areas of the frontier itself have also become a rebel safe haven from air attacks, a result of Turkey’s transfer of weaponry to the border to defend its air space.

Meanwhile, for the first time major rebel activity has spread further westward to Latakia province, where a month ago the insurgents briefly captured the town of Haffeh (Haffah) before withdrawing again. Another defeat came in Khan Sheikhoun, a large town in Idlib province along the government-held Hama-Aleppo road.

Central & Eastern Syria Contested

The central province of Homs has also continued to see heavy fighting, with the FSA capturing the town of Talbiseh and claiming to control all of Qusayr (Quseir), which for months was divided between rebel and Syrian government held areas. In Syria’s capital region, the government has again driven rebels out of the Damascus suburb of Douma. On the other hand, recent reports indicate that opposition forces now control most of Deir ez-Zor (Deir Ezzor), a major city in the country’s far east.

Pre-Baath party flag of Syria, now used as a symbol of opposition in Syria's uprising
Pre-Baath flag of Syria (source)

Opposing Flags
Finally, in an echo of events in Libya last year, opposition protesters in Syria have been flying an older version of the country’s flag, from before President Bashar al-Assad’s Baath party came to power. Based on what happened in Libya, it seems likely this flag could come to serve as the banner of a competing rebel state if the Syrian civil war continues to escalate.

Further Reading: Holliday, Joseph. Syria’s Maturing Insurgency (PDF). Institute for the Study of War (June 2012). 

Graphic of current Syrian flag is in the public domain (source).