Situating the Caucasus

A Fistful of Euros has an interesting post by Doug Muir about whether or not the states of the Caucasus are part of Europe. There are numerous ways of dividing geographical Europe and Asia, but looking at where that line runs through the Caucasus is sure to leave most people a tad off-kilter. This map shows that both Azerbaijan and Georgia are partially within Europe, but that Armenia is entirely outside. Most would surely consider Armenia more European than Azerbaijan, right? Perhaps the lines based on geography make little sense because Europe and Asia are in fact one continent shared by different cultural groups (as is apparently taught some places).

Where to draw the line between Asia and Europe is an interesting question, and one of great policy importance to the European Union. Should geography matter that much? Do Armenia and Georgia qualify as European because they are Christian nations? Will Kazakhstan, which quite clearly aspires to be considered European in just about every way save culture, someday have as strong (or stronger…) a claim to EU membership than Turkey?

Be sure to check out the comments to afoe post.