The New Great Game

For the book: "The New Great Game: Blood and Oil in Central Asia", see Lutz Kleveman.

Central Asia

The New Great Game is a term used to describe the conceptualization of modern geopolitics in Central Eurasia as a competition between the United States, the United Kingdom and other NATO countries against Russia, the People's Republic of China and other Shanghai Cooperation Organisation countries for "influence, power, hegemony and profits in Central Asia and the Transcaucasus". It is a reference to "The Great Game", the political rivalry between the British and Russian Empires in Central Asia during the 19th century.

Introduction

Many authors and analysts view this new "game" as centering around regional petroleum politics. Now, instead of competing for actual control over a geographic area, "pipelines, tanker routes, petroleum consortiums, and contracts are the prizes of the new Great Game". The term has become prevalent throughout the literature about the region, appearing in book titles, academic journals, news articles, and government reports. Pakistani author Ahmed Rashid claims he coined the term in a self-described "seminal" magazine article published in 1997, however uses of the term can be found prior to the publication of his article.

In a leaked US Embassy cable released by WikiLeaks, it was reported that Prince Andrew, Duke of York, supports the concept of a New Great Game:

Addressing the Ambassador directly, Prince Andrew then turned to regional politics. He stated baldly that “the United Kingdom, Western Europe (and by extension you Americans too)” were now back in the thick of playing the Great Game. More animated than ever, he stated cockily: “And this time we aim to win!”

Difference with the Great Game

Noopolitik in the New Great Game

After Halford Mackinder, in The Grand Chessboard Zbigniew Brzezinski had emphasized the unparalleled value Central Asia had among US geostrategic imperatives. Yet in his later book, "The Choice: Global dominance or Global Leadership" Brzezinski notably argued the USA should resort to more Soft Power in attempting to politically command key areas of central Asia. Similarily, Idriss Aberkane claimed Noopolitik was playing a more central role than ever in the balance of power of the New Great Game, as innovation was the simplest way for Great Gamers to alter the complex status quo and regional balance of power.

Similarity with the Great Game

"The Graveyard of Empires"

Afghanistan expert Seth Jones published a book analyzing its popular name as "The Graveyard of Empires": In the Graveyard of Empires: America's War in Afghanistan. That Afghanistan is a position of the Great Game that is impossible to hold over a protracted period seemed to have remained an invariant of the New Great Game

Related topics

• The Geographical Pivot of History
• Noopolitik
• The Graveyard of Empires
• The Grand Chessboard
• Geostrategy in Central Asia
• History of Central Asia
• Petroleum politics
• Sphere of Influence

Notes

References

• Brysac, Shareen; Meyer, Karl (1999), Tournament of Shadows: The Great Game and the Race for Empire in Asia, Washington, D.C.: Counterpoint, ISBN 0-349-11366-1 
• Edwards, Matthew (March 2003), "The New Great Game and the new great gamers: disciples of Kipling and Mackinder", Central Asian Survey 22 (1): 83–103, doi:10.1080/0263493032000108644 
• Rashid, Ahmed (2000), Taliban: Islam, Oil and the New Great Game in Central Asia, London: I. B. Tauris, ISBN 1-8606-4417-1 

Further reading

• Ahrari, Mohammed E. The New Great Game in Muslim Central Asia, University Press of the Pacific, 2002, ISBN 0-8987-5769-X
• Fels, Enrico. Assessing Eurasia's Powerhouse. An Inquiry into the Nature of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Winkler Verlag, Bochum (Germany), 2009, ISBN 978-3-89911-107-1.
• Kleveman, Lutz. The New Great Game: Blood and Oil in Central Asia, Grove Press, 2004, ISBN 0-8021-4172-2
• Johnson, Rob, Oil, Islam and Conflict: Central Asia since 1945, Reaktion, 2007, ISBN 978-1-86189-339-0
• Makni, Dr. The New Great Game: Oil and Gas Politics in Central Eurasia , Raider Publishing International, 2008, ISBN 1-9343-6056-2
• Mullerson, Rein. Central Asia: A Chessboard and Player in the New Great Game, Columbia University Press, 2007, ISBN 0-7103-1316-0

External links

• New Great Game - slideshow by Der Spiegel