The Greater Middle East is a geopolitical term introduced in March 2004 in a paper published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace as part of the United States' preparatory work for the Group of Eight summit of June 2004.

[2][3] It also denotes a vaguely defined region encompassing the Arab world, along with Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, and sometimes the Caucasus and Central Asia.

[4][5][6] Adam Garfinkle of the Foreign Policy Research Institute defined the Greater Middle East as the MENA region together with the Caucasus and Central Asia.

[11][12] Former US National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski stated that a "political awakening" is taking place in this region which may be an indicator of the multipolar world that is now developing.

[citation needed] The rise of Islam in the regions peripheral to Europe, notably peaking with the 1453 fall of Constantinople, led to Europeans considering themselves a Christendom isolated from the broader world by the 15th century.