Where is Iran?

[Tetro Kornbluth]

Too tired to go into the specifics of this poll right now but I'm curious to see what the Atlas consensus is, as one could easily make an argument for any of them (although Option two is definitely the weakest). What defines a region? When considering where a place 'belongs' to what do we consider important?

[moderatevoter]

The Middle East.

South Asia is generally accepted as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. Sometimes Myanmar and Afghanistan are included here.

When I hear Central Asia, I think of the "-stans": Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan.

 

[Hatman 🍁]

Southwest Asia

[Lief 🗽]

It's definitely not South Asia. There are some historical and cultural connections to Central Asia, and maybe some of the northeastern bits could be considered part of Central Asia, but otherwise not really. It's obviously different from the Sunni Arab-dominated "Middle East", but no more than Turkey or Israel or Lebanon are, and I consider all of those to be Middle-Eastern countries.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

The Middle East.

South Asia is generally accepted as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. Sometimes Myanmar and Afghanistan are included here.

When I hear Central Asia, I think of the "-stans": Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan.

 

How about Azerbaijan?  I once heard a comment that Persians tend to see themselves as a Caucasian people - not in the sense of "white" but in the actual sense of historical and cultural connections to Caucasia. Whether or not that's true I'm not sure, but it wouldn't be at all odd if so.  The area around the Caspian Sea seems to me generally very distinct from the Middle East, with Iran as a transition between the two. Some refer to a "Greater Iran" - in the past the connections between Iran and Central Asia - in terms of art, Empire, religion pre-Muslim and Muslim - were strong, but took divergent paths, with the rise of the Russian Empire dominating the Caspian/Central Asia area outside of Iran and Afghanistan, and Iran having more connection to the Middle East with the fall of the Ottoman Empire to the West.

[Redalgo]

In college the impression I got was that Iran is culturally tied in with Southwest Asia whereas Pakistan is the one country in the region that is most controversial to lump in with others in any direction. Without digging up some human geography sources I don't recall what all the relevant connections happen to be. Religious views matter, for instance, but so too do patterns in ethnic backgrounds, trading partnerships, strategic alliances, language, and historic influences exerted by foreign interests.

[politicus]

The Middle East. It is one of the defining elements of that cultural and geopolitical region - acting as the protector of Shia minorities in the Arab world. The existence of a Kurdish minority is another thing that ties it to the Middle East.

There are obvious links to Central Asia, but they are not nearly as important as those to the Middle East.

[Oak Hills]

The Middle East, but it's definitely on the regions periphery.

[TDAS04]

Option 1.

[Chunk Yogurt for President!]

"I think it borders Al Qaeda and ISIS."

Someone I met at college.

[Njall]

The Middle East

[Хahar 🤔]

In college the impression I got was that Iran is culturally tied in with Southwest Asia whereas Pakistan is the one country in the region that is most controversial to lump in with others in any direction. Without digging up some human geography sources I don't recall what all the relevant connections happen to be. Religious views matter, for instance, but so too do patterns in ethnic backgrounds, trading partnerships, strategic alliances, language, and historic influences exerted by foreign interests.

Labeling Pakistan doesn't strike me as controversial at all. Pakistan is straightforwardly part of India.

[Redalgo]

Labeling Pakistan doesn't strike me as controversial at all. Pakistan is straightforwardly part of India.

Well I imagine you know quite a bit more about the subject, and maybe I've got some things mixed up in my head on this subject, but I am under the impression that Pakistan does little trade with India, tries to strengthen its ties to ethnic Pashtun in Afghanistan and hopes to get closer to fellow Sunni Muslim countries to assemble an international bloc in counter to India. On the other hand, Pakistan is ethnically bound to India and they are part of some sort of free trade alliance, ya?

If Pakistan isn't at all fuzzy though, would Afghanistan perhaps be a better candidate for that distinction? I would be surprised if all the countries in this region could easily be sorted!

[Sol]

Labeling Pakistan doesn't strike me as controversial at all. Pakistan is straightforwardly part of India.

Well I imagine you know quite a bit more about the subject, and maybe I've got some things mixed up in my head on this subject, but I am under the impression that Pakistan does little trade with India, tries to strengthen its ties to ethnic Pashtun in Afghanistan and hopes to get closer to fellow Sunni Muslim countries to assemble an international bloc in counter to India.

That's a matter of geopolitics rather than culture. Just because it was easier for an East German to visit Ulaanbaatar than Frankfurt doesn't mean that East Germany was part of Central Asia.

[Redalgo]

That's a matter of geopolitics rather than culture. Just because it was easier for an East German to visit Ulaanbaatar than Frankfurt doesn't mean that East Germany was part of Central Asia.

I follow you, sure. To tweak your example, it would be like lumping East Germany in with Slavic as opposed to Western civilization by over-thinking the extent to which political and commerce-related differences may reflect broader cultural divides. Thanks, both of you, for helping clear this up!

[Joe Republic]

According to my RISK map, it is part of the Middle East.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

The Middle East. It is one of the defining elements of that cultural and geopolitical region - acting as the protector of Shia minorities in the Arab world. The existence of a Kurdish minority is another thing that ties it to the Middle East.

There are obvious links to Central Asia, but they are not nearly as important as those to the Middle East.

Kurds are an Iranian people. I don't see how there presence would make Iran any more of a Middle Eastern nation. The Iranian political identity in the region is a good point though.