The world's largest desert--the Sahara--is growing both northward and southward. International funds have already been allocated to observe desertification in the Maghreb and to investigate solutions to remediate the problem. While transnational action is needed and encouraged, some governments continue to act in the national, rather than regional, interest when it comes to water use. Egypt disrupted the flow of the Nile River when it built the Aswan High Dam in 1971, reducing water flow to Sudan downstream. Today, Libya depletes irreplaceable fossil water supplies to irrigate crops through the Great Man-Made River Project.

Choose one topic related to desertification or water use in northern Africa. Compare economic as well as environmental costs and benefits of human activity in that area.

The member nations of OPEC, many of which are from this region, influence the global prices and production targets for petroleum. They have also had variable relations with the United States and Russia, other major oil producers whose policies do not always agree with those of OPEC. Iraq is also an OPEC member.

Look at the brief history of OPEC. What was the 1973 OPEC Oil Embargo about? Was it successful? What is the stated goal of OPEC? Who are its current members? Where are they located geographically? Following Iraq's change of government in 2004, what is the likelihood of oil being used as an economic weapon?

Ethnic Kurds live as minority groups in five countries: Armenia, Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran. Government policies in these countries have not favored the Kurds and often singled them out for persecution while some Kurds have become separatist terrorists. Notably, the Kurdish population of Iraq was bombed by its own government from 1987–91; since then, Kurdish leaders supported U.S. efforts to change Iraq's government. In 2002, Turkey tried Kurd leader Ocalan for murder, treason, and terrorism.

What is the political future for the Kurdish people? Do they have enough economic clout or international sympathy to improve their situation locally or transnationally?