Power equations in the Middle East within the framework of the concepts of orientalism and occidentalism

The West has legitimized to its existence through hegeomania, which it has applied to non-western societies that it has marginalized in the political, cultural and economic fields through its power to steer history. While the West positioned itself as a subject with this acquisition, it also positioned the East as an object with its practice of writing, editing, and creating. In this sense, the West has shaped in a sociological sense the societies that it has marginalized from an epistemological point of view. The West has tried to establish sovereignty over societies other than its own, and this has resulted in new ideologies. Thus, a gap has been formed between the Orient (East) and the Oksident (West) in the direction of knowledge, power and government. The concepts of Orientalism, which means looking at the East from a Western perspective, and oxidentalism, which means looking at the West from an Eastern perspective, have emerged. Orientalism, by its very nature, also includes the energy of power. At this point, power creates an element of pressure on issues that it turns into hegomania. The Middle East is a political concept defined by the influence of the Orientalist perspective. The orientalist perspective, by its very nature, maintains its current position, as it includes the relations of political power as a dominant element in defining and determining borders. We can see that orientalism has turned into hegomania in the problems experienced in the Middle East. Occidentalism, which Eastern societies put into practice as an opposing view against orientalism, includes a culturalist critique of power rather than a power relationship. In this study, the discourse on the Middle East, which is not objective in terms of defining space, and the power struggle in the Middle East will be discussed within the framework of the concepts of Orientalism and Occidentalism. In this context, the first part of the study consists of an introductory chapter in which the purpose, scope, literature summary, material and methodology of the study are discussed. The second part of the book is organized under the heading of fictional spaces, where the topics of East, West, Middle East, Europe and Eurocentrism are discussed. In the third chapter, Orientalism and Occidentalism are discussed conceptually, theoretically and historically, and the geographical boundaries of Orientalism and Occidentalism are defined. In the fourth chapter, the geographical elements of Orientalism and Occidentalism are discussed and the geographical factors affecting Orientalism and Occidentalism are evaluated within the framework of the relationship between Orientalism and Occidentalism, power and colonialism. In the fifth chapter, the power struggle in the Middle East, the geopolitical changes in the Middle East, nationalism, political Islam and terrorism are evaluated within the framework of Orientalist and Occidentalist perspectives. Key words: Orientalism, Occidentalism, East-West, Middle East, power equation in the Middle East.