In the fantasy world of Game of Thrones, the action takes place on two continents – ‘Westeros’ which is broadly occidental and ‘Essos’ which is broadly oriental. The two are separated by a storm-tossed sea.
Back in the real world, we speak of Europe and Asia as if they were separate continents. However, that too is a work of fantasy. On a map without borders what you see is one continent, not two.
The border between Europe and Asia is arbitrary. One section runs north-south along the Urals, a lengthy but far from insuperable barrier to east-west travel. After the mountains peter out, we switch to the Ural river. That takes us to the Caspian and then the mountains of the Caucasus (but not at their highest ridge line). Moving west, we cross the Black Sea and arrive at the Bosphorus – a line of separation so meagre that it’s not only the same country on both sides, but also the same city (Istanbul).
Is there a more meaningful distinction between Europe and Asia?
Europe was once identified with Christendom. These days, the former seems embarrassed with that old association, while the latter stretches far beyond its former limits. If there aren’t already more practicing Christians in China than Europe, there soon will be.
So what does that leave?
Democracy? Nope, plenty of that in Asia now.
Ancestry? Not when the closely related peoples of the Eastern Mediterranean are divided between three continents.
What about economics and trade? Not anymore, says Bruno Maçães in the Guardian:
“Europe is disappearing. Not because – as you often hear – we are returning to a world of small nations, proud and sovereign, but because Europe is being replaced by a much vaster and more interesting geographic unit: Eurasia, the combination of the two continents of Europe and Asia, stretching from Lisbon to Shanghai or Jakarta. The rise of Asia forces us to place the continents on the same level, no longer separated by different levels of historical development. New connecting infrastructure, trade and the permeability of borders are drawing the whole of Eurasia together.”
As also mentioned in a previous UnPacked, Maçães believes that Brexit Britain needs to embrace the Eurasian future:
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