Is There a Middle East?: The Evolution of a Geopolitical Concept

by Michael Bonine (Editor), Abbas Amanat (Editor), Michael Gasper (Editor)

Is the idea of the "Middle East" simply a geopolitical construct conceived by the West to serve particular strategic and economic interests—or can we identify geographical, historical, cultural, and political patterns to indicate some sort of internal coherence to this label? While the term has achieved common usage, no one studying the region has yet addressed whether this conceptualization has real meaning—and then articulated what and where the Middle East is, or is not.

This volume fills the void, offering a diverse set of voices—from political and cultural historians, to social scientists, geographers, and political economists—to debate the possible manifestations and meanings of the Middle East. At a time when geopolitical forces, social currents, and environmental concerns have brought attention to the region, this volume examines the very definition and geographic and cultural boundaries of the Middle East in an unprecedented way.

Genres: History, Middle East

342 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 9, 2011

Reviews

[Colleen Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title sums up the contents perfectly. A collection of 10 papers by academics is bound to be uneven and occasionally repetitive. Some papers are better written and more interesting than others, although probably 10 knowledgeable readers would have at least 11 opinions about which papers she or he found more to the point.

Even those with an interest in the Middle East (or whatever term one prefers) are often unclear, even to themselves, as to what countries are rightly and usefully included in this term. Near East has pretty much dropped out of use, but 50 years ago it was used a lot.

Generally, Middle East to most non-scholars, includes the Muslim countries. But geographically it's not completely coherent. Morocco, for example, is actually west of most of Europe. Is North Africa - Morocco to Egypt - separate or not? Where do we 'place' the Muslim countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan?

Because the "Middle East" is so much in our news, a general reader might find much of this of interest. One would come away with more information and more questions.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very engaging book and exposed me to the reality that I know very little about the geography and history of the Middle East, except through the lens of Versailles. Particularly fascinating was Diana Davis's essay on the environmental history. Not pleasure or light read, but will cause me to delve deeepr into non-European writing on the topic.