Abstract
This paper aims to present the main themes analysed within this volume while introducing
the different studies and related approaches of the authors, connected to the
so-called “Great Game”. Starting from the perspective of the British experience, this
essay will frame the historical context of this geopolitical competition between imperial
powers during the XIX century, whose origin preceded the “Great Game” itself,
yet it will come back later with the so-called “arms race” that paved the way for the
outbreak of the First World War.
Central Asia become the ground of the rivalries between the great powers of the
time, resembling a sort of “chessboard” on which the Russian, the French and the British
empires moved through to impose their territorial domain, each of them with their
own political priorities, narratives, and obsessions leading to strategic decisions.
Beyond the description of the historical competition that occurred in the XIX century,
this essay aims to shed lights on the role of military commanders and British officials,
as supposed “young pawns” who, on the contrary, often implemented their own
strategies according to their personal ambitions, widespread prejudices of locals, lack
of territorial knowledge, as well as deep misconceptions of the competitors. Therefore,
it is important to acutely underline the role of narratives in supporting military and diplomatic
missions. Much more than a “game”, the competition in Central Asia shown
the strength to consolidate respective zones of influence, but also how personal ambitions
and self-perceptions of superiority has been used to justify political influence and
domain.
Titolo tradotto del contributo | [Autom. eng. transl.] The imagined chessboard: the Great Game between imperialist visions, Orientalist narratives and personal ambitions |
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Lingua originale | Italian |
pagine (da-a) | 5-28 |
Numero di pagine | 24 |
Rivista | Storia urbana |
Stato di pubblicazione | Pubblicato - 2018 |
Keywords
- central asia
- colonialism
- great game