Greater Middle East

Traditional definition of the Middle East

G8 definition of the Middle East

Areas sometimes associated with the Middle East (socio-political connections)

The Greater Middle East is a political term coined by the second Bush administration in the first decade of the 21st century,^[1] to denote various countries, pertaining to the Muslim world, specifically Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan.^[2] Various Central Asian countries are sometimes also included. Some speakers may use the term to denote areas with significant Muslim majorities, but this usage is not universal.^[3] The Greater Middle East is sometimes referred to as "The New Middle East",^[4] or "The Great Middle East Project".^[5]^[6]

This expanded term was introduced in the U.S. administration's preparatory work for the G8 summit of 2004^[7] as part of a proposal for sweeping change in the way the West deals with the Middle East.

Former U.S. National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, alluded to the modern Middle East as a control lever on an area he calls the Eurasian Balkans.^[8] The Eurasian Balkans consists of the Caucasus (Georgia, the Republic of Armenia, and Azerbaijan) and Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan) and Turkey. Turkey forms the northernmost part of the Middle East (although some of the country lies in the Caucasus).^[9]