Medio Oriente e “artificialità”: una prospettiva storica

A wide number of books published each year on the Middle East suggest or imply that most of the local borders, nations, cultures, and toponyms are "artificial" and devoid of any historical basis. The name itself («Middle East»), it is often argued, was coined by the British to serve their own strategic interests. The first part of the article contextualizes and deconstructs each of these aspects, while the second warns about the counterproductive effects that these approaches are having. They shed light on the points of view and the potential interests of those who support them, rather than on the interests and history of those who will continue to live in the region.