The term Great Game has been ascribed to the confrontation between the European colonial powers Great Britain and Russia over the control of Central Asia in the 19th century. While Britain feared that Russia would aim for a direct access to the Indian Ocean, Russia wanted to secure its political, military, and economic interests in the East. The history of the Great Game is closely related to the Great Power relations in Europe. Since the turn of the 21st century, some political observers detect the evolution of a New Great Game in this region. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Zbignew Brzezinski († 2017) stressed that it is in the geostrategic interest of the US to prevent Russia from regaining control of Central Asia. Russia, on the other hand, launched with the Eurasian Union a project to integrate Central Asia into post-imperial political structures. China with its Muslim minority (Uighurs) and its still rising demand for natural resources has also a strong interest in the region. In addition to the analysis of the historical and current political developments, the seminar addresses the following issues: post-colonialism, Eurasianism, Islam and Islamism, and “imitated democracies”.
- Trainer/in: europast europast
- Trainer/in: Wolfram von Scheliha