The New Great Game is competition for access to the underground resources of the Heartland, including Central Asia, by displacing key players in the region through destabilization.
Author: Abdul Naser Noorzad, security and geopolitics researcher, especially for Sangar
What do we know about the great classic game and its new form? What effect has this game had on the situation of Afghanistan in crisis for more than forty years? Which factors played a major role in the escalation of this game? And basically, what is the difference between the classic great game and its new form? And finally, what will be the future of the region where Afghanistan is heavily under its security and political dynamics?
The Great Classic Game actually refers to the political and military competition between Tsarist Russia and colonial Britain in Central Asia, which not only had destructive effects on the stability, security and economic development of the region, but also caused the roots of this competition for many years, in regional and extra-regional competitive thinking has destabilizing effects. The term "Great Game" was first coined by Arthur Connolly and its philosophy was that Britain feared the expansion of Tsarist Russia towards India through Central Asia. While Russia was afraid of the expansion of British interests in Central Asia. In this created tension, there was a deep atmosphere of mistrust and talk of war between the two European colonial empires. This game started in 1830 and ended with the signing of the protocol of the Pamir Border Commission in 1895 or according to some sources in 1907. But its next stage began in the late 1990s when the Soviet Union collapsed and many regional and extra-regional countries competed for access to the strategic point of the Heartland and access to abundant underground resources of this strategic region, and until now the competition in its security, political and economic form has entered the operational stages in various forms of hybrid warfare.
Countries like the US, Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey and India are included in the new great game. The term new great game was coined by Ahmed Rashid, a famous Pakistani writer and journalist. Now, in a situation where the region, especially Afghanistan, is in the grip of an intense security, economic and political competition, as a stepping stone for the next stage of the new great game, there are differences in the rules of the game, the players, and the goals and tools. The new great game with its classic type, are as follow:
- Disputed areas or the playing field: In the new great game, large areas of the geographic center of heartland are considered in the game rule to advance the game. While in the classic great game, the only focus was on one or two areas;
- Change and multiplicity of players: in the new great game, extra-regional players have entered the game. From the US, Turkey, India and Pakistan to Japan, Russia and China. While in its classical form, the two great European powers, were considered the main parties of the conflict;
- The impact of the situation in Afghanistan on the situation in the region: In the new great game, Afghanistan is used as a springboard for political and security destabilization of the entire region. While in the classic form of this game, Afghanistan, was accepted as the buffer point between the warring powers;
- Trying to balance the hegemonic influence: in the new form of the new great game, the major attempt are to ensure the balance of power, hegemonic structure and trying to control the effective geography in this game and military, political and economic competitions, in its modern form. While in the classic great game, the main endeavor was to prevent the influence of competitors;
- Polarization of the state of players: In the new great game, all the players and the parties involved in the competition in the heartland axis, influenced by the polarized spirit, are trying to secure their interests individually. While in its classic form, the two great European powers, in a regular way, tried to access their big interests;
- Modern tools in the new great game: In the new great game, modern tools are used in the process of competition, and the form of war is established by hybrid war and all forms of modern tools and contemporary technology. While, in its classic form, only espionage tools were used more;
- The importance of geo-economy compared to geopolitics and the simultaneous effort to balance the political and economic aspects in the relations and rules governing the game: In the new form of this game, more efforts are made to achieve economic benefits and underground resources that can meet the immediate needs of the parties involved. While the political and economic balance prevails in the relations and the rule of the game in its bare form, but the principle of economic interests is more pioneering than political interests;
- The use of economic leverage over political one for regional destabilization: In the new form of the great game, economic leverage such as providing incentives, economic pressure in the form of sanctions and transit obstacles to appease the countries involved in the circle includes the game and are widely used. While, the competition in the classic form of this game was only focused on political competitions, and espionage in it was more likely;
- Use of proxies: in the new form of the new great game, proxies are mostly used to disturb the balance in the poles of the rules of the game. Terrorist groups, separatists, drug trafficking networks, in principle, make the essential parts of this game, along with espionage activities. While in the classic form of the great game, only the state players included the circle of competition;
- Clash of cultures and civilization: In the new great game, the principle of cultural and civilizational confrontation is an accepted principle and a rule governing the circle of competition in this area. Chinese, Orthodox, Indian, Turkish, Japanese, Anglo-Saxon, etc. civilizations can be mentioned in this field. While in the great classic game, was not the clash of cultures, but the fear of hegemonic competition and conquest of more geography by great powers;
- Decreasing the level of ability and status of the players from global to regional one: In the great classic game, two great world powers such as the tsars and the English were facing each other in order to excel in the field of competition. There was no regional power at all that could contain the competition between them. But currently, even the United States of America is a regional hegemonic power and this principle and calculation is true for other players as well;
- Absence of a state ideology and dominance of political hegemony: In the great classical game, the major attempt to dominate political hegemony and state ideology was more noticeable. While in the new form of the great game, as mentioned before, this competition seeks economic benefits, and counter security risks and threats from its basis without the existence of any government and political ideology;
Therefore, in the basis of the new great game with its classic, the main interest is preservation, and the espionage and security competition is considered a common aspect between them. However, the multiplicity of players, the priority of economic interests over political ones, the use of proxy tools and non-governmental groups, the use of Afghanistan as a spring board, and the act of destabilizing security and politics at the regional level, can be seen in the rules of the game. The new great game targets the principle of access to the underground resources of the Heartland regions and tries to remove the key players of the region who traditionally have influence in this area by destabilizing the region. Terrorism, drugs and separatism are the strong sides of this game, which the trans-region is trying to catch fish from the muddy water.
Note: Internet sources have been used in writing this article.
