Where is the Middle East? The Definition and Classification Problem of the Middle East as a Regional Subsystem in International Relations

This article examines the content of the Middle East term in terms of international relations. The term of East which goes back to ancient times, has been used to describe the rest, outside of Europe in cultural expressions instead of a geographical region to portray opposite world for centuries. Since the Crusades, East (Orient) was identified with Islam and West (Occident) became identical with Christianity, based on two different belief systems. We can say that East and West mean thoughts, not geographical borders in this context. The emergence of different terms related to the East like Near East, Middle East and Far East were Eurocentric and they cannot be considered without taking Western imperialism into account in 19th century. A modern political term, the Middle East has entered into the literature of international relations and has also been adopted by countries in the region. With the end of the Cold War and especially after September 11, new political thematic terms like the Greater Middle East, the Broader Middle East and Islamic Middle East has entered into the daily terminology. The content of new definitions developed by the US in the context of democratization of the Islamic world closely concerns Turkey which has a model country characteristic in the region.