Knowra Middle East Middle East The Middle East is a region centered on southwestern Asia, often including parts of northeastern Africa. Its boundaries vary by historical, political, and cultural context.
Western Asia : The part of Asia west of South Asia, extending from the Caucasus and Anatolia to the Arabian Peninsula. Much of the Middle East lies within this geographic region.
Near East : A historically used European regional term for lands around the eastern Mediterranean and western Asia. Its changing scope overlaps with, but is not identical to, the Middle East.
CENTCOM : The United States Central Command, a unified combatant command responsible for military operations across a broad overseas area. Its area of responsibility is often treated as a practical security definition of the Middle East.
Southwest Asia : A geographic term for the southwestern part of Asia, generally excluding northeastern Africa. It offers a less Eurocentric geographic label for much of the region.
North Africa : The northern part of Africa, extending along the Mediterranean coast and into the Sahara. Some definitions extend the Middle East across the Red Sea into northeastern Africa.
Orientalism : A tradition of representing Asian and Middle Eastern societies through European scholarship, art, and political thought. European ways of classifying the region shaped the vocabulary used to describe it.
Arab League : A regional organization of Arab states founded in 1945 to coordinate political and economic affairs. Its membership offers a political grouping that overlaps with, but does not define, the region.
Greater Middle East : A broad political-geographic label extending beyond the Middle East into neighboring parts of North Africa and Asia. It describes expanded regional frameworks used in some policy contexts.
MENA : A regional grouping of the Middle East and North Africa used in policy, economics, and research. This broader label makes explicit when North African countries are included.
Alfred Thayer Mahan : An American naval strategist whose 1902 writings helped popularize the phrase “Middle East.” His strategic usage helped establish the modern regional label.
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