Listening to an Iranian official describe his region as “West Asia” got me wondering if the word “Middle East” is on the outs and why. I suspect Middle East is eurocentric for some reason, but West Asia also preserves Europe as a continent, which is Eurocentric in its own way because Europe is not a continent and never was. If we’re calling anything West Asia, it should be Spain and Portugal.
I’m Iranian and can confirm that it’s terminology that is being pushed in the general resistance to the West, as the ‘Middle East’ is seen as a colonial term. It describes the region’s relationhip to Britain. So the term West Asia appeals to lots of people in China, India, Pakistan and former colonies in general.
I personally don’t like it. If we’re scrapping the term ‘Middle East’, I’d like to emphasize how the region does in fact sit in the middle between Europe, Africa and Asia. It’s at the center of this supercontinent (and it’s strategic geography is making itself known at the moment). It’s the middle of the ‘World Island’ so to speak, but I have trouble coming up with a catchy phrase for it.