Defining the Middle East
The definition of the term Middle East is not set in granite, as the
region is not an exactly defined area of the world. It is sometimes
referred to as the Near East or Southwest Asia; in India the region
is known as Western Asia. What the area is called sometimes depends
on one’s position on the globe. Even then, not everyone agrees
on which countries should be included within a geographic domain.
The different terms applied to the region emphasize that the area being
described owes its regional character to other than indigenous factors.
As diverse as the countries of Europe, these lands are included in a
single term only because they are “near to” or “in
the middle of” other regions. Whatever unity does exist within
the region today is largely functional: it is a unity in relation to
the outside world rather than an inherent unity arising from similar
geographical and social conditions or from a recent common history.
The issue is confused not only due to the region’s location but
also due to culture and ethnicity. If the Middle East is defined solely
as the Arab states and Israel, Iran would be excluded. If it is thought
to include Israel and the predominantly Muslim states in the area, then
the North African states of Algeria, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia, plus
Afghanistan, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan,
Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, the Sudan, and Turkey, would also have to be
included.
In the academic community, the term Middle East refers to the Arab countries
of North Africa; the Arab countries of Asia; Israel; and the non-Arab
countries of Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey. According to some
broader definitions, it may also include the five countries of Central
Asia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
Some might also include Azerbaijan.
That said, a commonly used definition focuses on those countries that
Americans most often associate with the Middle East and that have had
a continuing and central role in two issues of importance to US foreign
policy: the Arab-Israeli conflict and the security of the Persian Gulf
and its oil resources. These nations are Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq,
Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria,
the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Given the importance of the war
on terrorism to current US foreign policy, it might be appropriate to
include Afghanistan and other neighboring Central Asian states in the
definition. The average American sees Afghanistan as a country in the
Middle East.
Carol J. Riphenburg, Ph.D.
Professor/Political Science
riphenbu@cdnet.cod.edu
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