Newsweek – People online are advocating for the term “Middle East” to be retired, and that the term “SWANA,” described as a decolonial and antiracist term, should be widely adopted instead.
“SWANA” is an acronym of Southwest Asia and North Africa.
Dr Autumn BlackDeer, an anti-colonial scholar and activist, wrote in a post on Instagram liked over 70,000 times, “decoloniality is learning SWANA is the correct term and speaking out as anti-SWANA racism is on the rise.”
Speaking to Newsweek over email, BlackDeer said: “Referring to the Middle East is a white, western way of knowing that reinforces Eurocentric ideas as if they are the only way of thinking about the world. Several folks have shared their preference for SWANA as a way to affirm their lived experience, which is what decolonization is all about—the return of Indigenous lands and livelihoods.”
Why It Matters
The war in Iran has now reached its 10th day, after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran in what has been dubbed Operation Epic Fury, and a recent poll from Reuters/Ipsos found that only one in four Americans supports the strikes.
More than 1,000 civilians have already been killed, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, and analysts and commentators have voiced specific criticism over military intervention in the Middle East, raising questions and concerns informed by the legacy left by historical wars in the region.
What Is The Etymology Of The Term Middle East?
The etymology of the term Middle East can be traced back to British and American colonizers. Some attribute the terms to the American Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan, who is said to have used the term for the first time in 1902. However, other sources indicated that the earliest usage was by a British officer, General Sir Thomas Edward Gordon, in 1900.
A 1976 article on the term’s origins by the author Clayton R. Koppes states “Although the Middle East has its own long and distinct history, the term by which it is known today originated barely seventy years ago,” adding that the “designation ‘Middle East’ arose from the imperatives late-nineteenth century and diplomacy, which needed a name for the region between the ‘Near East’, based on Turkey, and the ‘Far East’, based on China.”
Why Are People Using The Term “SWANA”?
People are encouraging the usage of the term “SWANA” as an alternative to the term Middle East.
For example, a post on March 1 by the social media user @sugartradamus viewed over 100,000 times reads in part “I have just been educated and I think everyone needs to know this too. We should use “west Asia/SWANA” instead of middle east. This term was coined by British imperialists, who placed Europe at the center of the world reducing diverse cultures to a single entity. if we want to decolonize our language and stop positioning western Europe as the middle of the world, use “West Asia” “SWANA” (southwest Asia and north Africa) instead.”
It’s not the first time that people have suggested alternative names for the area.
An article published by Global Voices in 2024 reads in part: “The term “Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has long been used to describe a vast and diverse region stretching from Morocco in the west, to Iran in the east. However, the term’s Eurocentrism has been criticized, and in recent years we have seen a growing momentum to replace MENA with terms like SWANA (Southwest Asia and North Africa) or WANA (West Asia and North Africa).”
That article encourages people to challenge “outdated and colonial terminologies,” with these kinds of language switches.
BlackDeer meanwhile told Newsweek that if “folks from that area tell us that SWANA is their exercise of sovereignty and self-determination, we should listen. Just as Native Nations prefer to be called by our specific Nations, like I’m from the Cheyenne Nation, rather than grouping us as “Native Americans” because our ancestors were here before it was ‘America’.”
What Happens Next
Whether the term is widely adopted into the lexicon remains to be seen. The discourse though shows how conversations move and evolve online in response to world events.