Sep

05

Urban and Rural Human Geography in Syria

  With the political upheaval underway in since March 2011, GSI has been doing background research to identify the social dynamics at play in the human geography of the country.  Called the crossroads of civilizations in travel promotions, ...

Mar

15

Cracks in the Foundation – An Opening for Clans in North Korea

Cracks in the Foundation – An Opening for Clans in North Korea The clan structure in Korea has traditionally played the organizing role that social groups and tribal networks do in other countries.  In North Korea where ultimate power res...

Feb

23

Gangs, Oligarchs, Tribes & Religious Sects – The Human Geography of Chihuahua

Chihuahua is the largest state by area in Mexico. It hosts the city that is the major transportation route for the narcotics and cross border arms trade: Ciudad Juarez.  From 2007 to 2010 Ciudad Juarez was the main focal point of the drug war be...

Jan

23

Clan Ties, Guanxi, and Project Management in China

  Kinship ties in business relationships are not unique to China.  In The Yin and Yang of Kinship and Business, Alex Stewart and Michael Hitt note kinship as an organizational element of business concerns is a sustained global phenomenon,...

Dec

14

Informal Networks & Human Geography: the Bahraini Matam

Informal Networks & Human Geography:  the Bahraini Matam Informal networks are an important part of the social dynamics in any social structure, from the favelas of Brazil to the bazaars of Iran. In Bahrain the neighborhood and village Shia...

Nov

23

The Human Geography of the Bazaar in Iran

The Human Geography of the Bazaar in Iran The Iranian bazaar thrives as a modern political force capable of bringing about revolution and toppling regimes. The bazaar’s power is so significant that today’s Islamic Republic considers its...

Nov

08

Local Populations and Human Geography

Local Populations and Human Geography Is mapping the human geography of a region a threat to its inhabitants? A controversy over an academic human geography project called México Indígena raised the issue of whether mapping the human ...

Oct

13

Mapping the Somali Diaspora

Mapping the Somali Diaspora Recently GSI completed a tribal geographic database of Somalia. This database provides in-depth tribal data in a geographic format identifying approximate locations for specific families as well as their tribal hierarchie...

Oct

03

Stakeholder management in the Niger Delta

Stakeholder Management in the Niger Delta Human Geography Mapping provides the framework for a Social License to Operate Nigeria and the Niger Delta are areas fraught with the legacy disputes of majority and minority ethnic and tribal groups. The N...

Sep

22

Geographical and Tribal Factors at Play in Kufrah, Libya

 Al-Kufrah is a small desert town (also known as Al-Jawf) in the southeast corner of Libya.  It is the provincial capital of the Kufrah district, which is the largest by area in Libya, but it is remote from the current fighting.  The K...

Sep

06

Human Geography in Lebanon

A marked difference from other Middle Eastern societies is the unique sectarian focus in Lebanon.  It is not that sectarian differences do not play a role in other countries in the region.  Rather the political structure heightens these dif...

Aug

23

Human Geography & Non-Tribal Societies

Human Geography & Non-Tribal Societies Does mapping of social groups only pertain to tribal societies? Some suggest GSI’s process of mapping social dynamics in a region only works for areas where tribal structures remain an important aspe...

Jun

30

Meeting the Critical Need for Human Geography

Deciding where to position assets such as pipelines or satellite offices can be a big challenge, especially if you are operating in high risk environments such as the Middle East or Africa. Understanding local sentiment and visualizing the cult...