The Great Game Today

The Great Game Today

By Konstantin Penzev
New Eastern Outlook
Published: November 30, 2010

The Great Game obviously did not end in 1907 with the signing of the Anglo-Russian Convention. Given that, we should adjust the definition of the term, i.e., move away from its narrow meaning of the Anglo-Russian conflict in Central Asia during just the 19th century.

In a general sense, the Great Game is a military, political, economic, ideological, etc. struggle for dominance in Eurasia. Control of Eurasia would give a player a chance at ruling the world, so what we are really talking about is a struggle for world domination. That, by the way, should not be confused with the conspiracy theory of a World Government. In my opinion, the creation of the notorious World Government, strange as it may sound, is not such a big problem. When it comes right down to it, if you, the reader, feel an urgent need for one you can create it and invite any members of your family that you wish to join. The main problem is this. Who would submit to such an institution? Surely you don’t intend to run an entire continent by the “self-fulfilling prophecy” method? If not, we should discuss other things, specifically military and industrial capabilities.

Why Eurasia? Is it that important? How is it significant?

We are going to avoid reinventing the wheel here and instead consult the well-known US political figure Zbigniew Brzezinski, who was absolutely correct when he said America’s global leadership is directly dependent on how long and how effectively it can maintain its supremacy in Eurasia.[1] He was right. In fact, about 75% of the world’s population lives in Eurasia; a large part of the world’s physical wealth is located here; and Eurasia has about three fourths of the world’s known energy reserves and approximately 60% of global GDP. Most importantly, its share of global GDP is rapidly growing. According to Samuel Huntington, who also need not be introduced, China had the largest economy in the world for a large part of history. He wrote that the spread of technologies and economic development of non-Western societies in the second half of the 20th century would restore that historical pattern.[2]

China and India were major productive regions in Eurasia during the Agrarian Age, and nothing will prevent them from occupying the same position in the Industrial Age. Neither the Chinese nor the Indians have ever been backward in terms of culture and science. Their rate of progress slowed somewhat during the 19th and 20th centuries due to the colonial policies of the West, but colonialism is over now. China and India today are nuclear and space powers. Their huge advantage is that these regional civilizations have favorable climates, extremely large populations and access to the oceans of the world.

Thus, if Eurasia is the chief geopolitical prize in the global political game, the main geopolitical prize in the Great Game, cynically as it may sound, was and is India and China. It is on these civilizations that the countries involved in the global political and economic process will focus during the 21st century.

Continued. . .