Is Armenia in Europe or Asia?

Breaking away a little bit from our more traditional language-specific topics, I wanted to spend a bit of time discussing a very interesting and complicated corner of the world, and dig into where the borders are between Europe and Asia, particularly with regards to Armenia, and why it matters. I was inspired to do this largely due to a recent interest in the general former Soviet sphere of influence, and this is where I write things.

Because of Russia’s illegal, cruel, and frankly inept invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, I found myself interested in a whole range of related topics. Because of the conflict, European rhetoric in particular has been of particular interest to me, and as a US citizen living abroad in Germany, it fascinates me to see where our social studies, geographic, and historical educations differ. One sentiment I have heard frequently over the past several years from Germans in particular is that Russia is not Europe. Whether we’re referring to Europe as the continent that I learned it to be as a child in the US, or whether we’re talking about it more as a political and economic institution (European Union, Schengen Zone, etc.), is not always clear.1Probably to them, either.

So while this rhetoric has inspired me to think about borders and what it means to fall into a specific country or continent, this piece isn’t about Ukraine, it’s about the Caucasus region and more specifically whether Armenia is in Europe or Asia, or both.

This short article is a bulked-up version of a section of a much larger piece I’m writing about endangered languages in Europe, and in the piece I cite at least one or two Caucasus languages and refer to them as European for the intents and purposes of the article. It’s not done yet, but when it is I’ll be sure to link to it, and probably shoot off fireworks and uncork champagne since I haven’t produced much in ages. Sorry about that.

Anyway….

 

Is Armenia in Europe or Asia?

We’re going to tread lightly here because this can be a bit of a controversial question and one we must handle delicately. No matter what I say, I’m sure someone will get annoyed with me, so I’m going to try to issue some facts while doing what I can to make sure that nobody’s fragile feelers get stomped.

With that, let’s get started.

It is very difficult to place Armenia in Europe or Asia, not only because of its geographic location, but also its politics, cultures, and traditions in particular.

 

Geography!

Geographically, The Republic of Armenia is a land-locked country that falls just south of the Caucasus mountains and is surrounded by Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Iran.

Very technically speaking, one of the most commonly accepted borders between Europe and Asia is considered to be the Bosporus Strait, which separates Anatolia (Turkey, mostly) from Europe’s Balkan states, and links the Aegean Sea to the Black Sea. This is probably the “cleanest” of the Eurasian borders, the others being considerably more vague. Water tends to make for nice, orderly boundaries. 2It should be noted that Turkey lies on both sides of the strait, meaning that it does in fact occupy land in continental Europe.[footnote]This is part of Turkey’s justification for its admission to the EU, an ongoing and controversial topic, and not one we need to get into right now. .

The other major border dividing Asia from Europe is generally considered to be the Ural Mountains in Russia, which separate conventional Europe from Siberia. Of course, we then have the subject at hand, the Caucasus mountains that separate Russia and Georgia – the latter of which, along with Azerbaijan, are situated in a similar state of geographical torpor.

So, if we agree to follow only those conventions, including the mountains and the Bosporus in Turkey, Armenia is located in Asia.

However:

 

Politics!

According to a public opinion poll, most Armenians seem to associate more closely with Europeans than Asians when it comes to politics; about 64% of surveyed citizens, according to a 2005 public opinion poll. Only 11% of those polled strongly disagreed with this assessment.

Numerous other polls, such as those by the EU NEIGHBORS east project in 2017, 2018, and 2020 show a very high opinion of Europe in general with around 80% of those polled.

Due to very strong ties with the European Union, including numerous current political arrangements, there is also a possibility that Armenia will wind up joining the EU in the future – though this is uncertain. As of 2021, Armenia and Europe have taken steps to strengthen their social and economic ties, and these moves are also part of the process of aligning laws with those required by the EU. A 2017 poll by Gallup suggested that just 27% of Armenians supported integration with the EU, but whether these figures have increased lately, especially in the wake of Russia’s  invasion of Ukraine, are a matter of speculation.

As is the case for EU applicant nations, it can be a very lengthy process to get their proverbial ducks in a proverbial row for EU membership. Should this come to pass, it would be hard not to consider them to be “European”, you know? It’s in the name.3Then again, Australia attends Eurovision, so what do I know?

However, whether Armenia’s neighbors, such as Turkey, itself hoping for EU membership one day, look fondly upon such a decision or not, is yet another topic for which this article is way too short, and its writer way too underinformed to tackle.

 

Culture and linguistics!

As if things weren’t unclear enough already, Armenia is a nation resting at the crossroads of so many other nations both past and present. This area was conquered and then reconquered by empires and kingdoms from both East and West, and was flooded with migrating traditions over thousands of years due to the wending Silk Road. This has introduced many different traditions and cultures in Armenia, erased others, changed yet more, and led us to the confusion we’re discussing at present.

Language, as well, is likely a significant aspect of Armenia’s identity – as it generally is everywhere.

Armenian is an Indo-European language, the language family that also includes the vast majority of European languages, such as those in the Germanic, Slavic, and Romance language sub-families, etc. It also includes many languages that are not traditionally “European”, such as Persian, Urdu-Hindi, Bangla, and a bunch of others spread throughout the Middle East and Asian Subcontinent.4Not to mention a ton of dead languages.

Armenian, however, is extra-fascinating in that it occupies its own branch of the family and differs significantly from its European and Indo-Iranian cousins. It also features an alphabetical writing system quite unlike any other European language, or non-European language, for that matter.

What does this mean for the question of Armenia being part of Europe or Asia? In this case, it sounds to me like it could go either way.

Religiously, Armenia is 95% Christian. This does not in and of itself necessarily mandate that a country is more European. Virtually all of Central and South America are Catholic as heck but nobody today would confuse them with Europe. Likewise, over 95% of the Philippines also identify as some form of Christian – primarily Catholic – and it doesn’t get much more “Asia” than the Philippines.

Still, Armenia’s historical lean towards Christianity does bring with it a certain social link that at the very least points towards a more “European” tradition, and religion has always been one of the strongest self-identifiers humanity has.

 

Conclusion

Determining whether Armenia is in Europe or Asia is clearly not as cut and dry as it may seem. Furthermore, it’s hardly the only nation in a situation like this. Georgia and Azerbaijan, just to name two, also sit at a crossroads of continents and have similar attributes that put them in a flexible position. All three Caucasus countries have solid arguments for being in Europe and Asia, and the confusion really seems to boil down to our outside perceptions of where the border between “East” and “West” is.

Some may see Armenia and its Caucasus neighbors as simply Eurasian without need for further distinction. Others may decide that it matters for political or diplomatic reasons.

The way I see it, there’s no reason that we cannot think of Armenia as belonging to both Asia and Europe.

Ultimately, I am curious to know what you think, especially my Caucasus readers. Are Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia in Europe or Asia? Leave a comment with your thoughts on the topic.