The Two “Great Games”: Homo Ludens In Central Asia
The Two “Great Games”: Homo Ludens In Central Asia

Summary/Abstract: Describing the international relations in Central Asia as the “New Great Game” has become entrenched in academic and political discourses. However, references to the “Great Game” – the nineteenth-century regional rivalry of the Russian and British Empires – do not answer the fundamental questions about the Game’s “second round,” its participants, stakes and rules of the game, and the relevance of this historical analogy. This paper aims at revealing how the “New Great Game” discourse has become commonplace in the analyses of Central Asian international politics, and what this historical allusion elucidates and obfuscates. The questions are raised: Are there any “rules of the game” implied by the ludic discourse? What is the heuristic and methodological potential of the New Great Game concept? Starting with an overview of the Old Great Game narrative, the research focuses on the New Great Game discourse, questioning its assumptions and revealing its inconsistencies.

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