ABSTRACT
The term Middle East has been retained because of its well known political connotations. The boundaries of the Middle East have been classified according to their origin. First, there are the limits created by bilateral negotiations, even though sometimes one party was in a dominant position. A distinction has been made according to whether the participants in the bilateral negotiations were external or indigenous powers. In the south most of the bilateral boundaries were negotiated between external powers or by one external and one indigenous authority. Only short sections of boundary have been delimited through bilateral negotiations between two indigenous parties and, with the exception of the boundary between Yemen and Saudi Arabia, they were all settled after World War II. In terms of boundary construction the Middle East is transitional between Asia and Africa. Within the Middle East there is a clear division between the processes of boundary evolution in the northern and southern regions.
