Today, the news focuses on Israel's war against Hamas, a conflict that has affected countries such as Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and Yemen. In the media we find different names for the region.
Is it right to talk about the Near East or should we talk about the Middle East? Are there similarities between both names? What are the differences compared to the Far East?
If we turn to the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE), there are three very different concepts. We have to use the expression Near East when we refer to Lebanon, Israel, Turkey, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Iran and the Arabian Peninsula, an area that also includes Palestine.
Instead, you should use Middle East when referring to Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and surrounding countries. Finally, the Far East includes China, Southeast Asia and other countries in the region.
If the two terms are used interchangeably
However, in common usage, the difference between the Near East and the Middle East is not always so clear and distinct. Due to the influence of English, which makes no distinction between the Near and Middle East, both concepts are usually used interchangeably.
To complicate matters further, the way the region is referred to depends on whether it is from a European or American perspective (distances change) or whether it is an international organization or another organization that refers to it.
The terms “Near East” and “Middle East” emerged as the decolonization process developed in an area controlled by Britain and, to a lesser extent, France.