Similarities and Differences in Countries’ Perceptions of the Concept of the Middle East: From the Perspective of State Administration

The concept (term) of the Middle East is dynamic and unstable in its geographical, security, political, and economic dimensions. This concept (term) is according to the perceptions and motives of each country . The only constant in its geography is the Arab region, except North Africa, specifically the "Maghreb,” where it sometimes expands to include the entire Arab region in addition to the Islamic countries of Central Asia, the Balkan countries, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and parts of from China, Turkey, Israel and Iran, and sometimes it narrows and shrinks to include the Gulf region only. Hence, it is a concept or term that is not clear-cut according to American perception. Most of the country’s perceptions of the Middle East reflected a disturbance in defining its political geography and periphery. Most of those perceptions expressed a manifestation of identification or the competition between the regional and international powers over the Arab region in general and the Gulf in particular.