Definition
The term ‘Great Game’ was coined in the nineteenth century to describe the rivalry between Russia and Britain. The game motif is useful to describe the broader rivalry between nations and economic systems with the rise of imperialism and the pursuit of world power.
The term ‘Great Game’ was coined in the nineteenth century to describe the rivalry between Russia and Britain. Britain sent spies disguised as surveyors and traders to Afghanistan and Turkestan and, several times, armies to keep the Russians at bay. The Anglo-Afghan war of 1839–42 was precipitated by fears that the Russians were encroaching on British interests in India after Russia had established a diplomatic and trade presence in Afghanistan. By the nineteenth century, there was already no such thing as neutral territory. The entire world was now a gigantic playing field for the major industrial powers, and Eurasia was the centre of this playing field.
The game motif is useful to describe the broader rivalry...
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Walberg, E. (2021). ‘Great Games’ in the Literature of Imperialism. In: Ness, I., Cope, Z. (eds) The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Imperialism and Anti-Imperialism. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91206-6_346-2
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‘Great Games’ in the Literature of Imperialism- Published:
- 10 March 2021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91206-6_346-2
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‘Great Games’ in the Literature of Imperialism- Published:
- 07 July 2020
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91206-6_346-1