Deconstructing MENA from a historical and cultural perspective. The concept of “Middle East and North Africa” as a Western functional product
Keywords:
MENA, orientalism, geopolitics, Cold War, Clash of Civilizations
Abstract
The analytical category of "Middle East and North Africa" refers to a set of countries that share a historical, social and cultural background. However, it may include or exclude a number of countries depending on the institution or individual who applies this category, which is usually justified in cultural or geographical terms. Still, the use of this concept is deeply connected with Oriental studies, as they developed during the 18th and 20th centuries and Western geopolitical interests in the region. Orientalism has been a common feature of Western political discourse from colonization to the Cold War. In this last period, many scholars expected to justify the post-IIWW world order through political and culturalist theories, not only using the conventional orientalist approach to the different regions of the world, but assigning them a particular role in the new world order depending of Western interests. This paper intends to show the contribution of Western intellectual and scholar production in the historical construction of the analytical category of MENA, and its formulation within specific academic discipline and political discourse.Downloads
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