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For most of the 19th and early part of the 20th century, the British and Russian Empires engaged in elaborate political, economic, and diplomatic confrontations to control portions of Central Asia. Coined by British spy Arthur Conolly in 1840, the Great Game defined a power rivalry in Central Asia that represented the worst tendencies of colonialism, including enforcing artificial national boundaries, dividing people and cultures, and causing countless civil wars and general upheavals that endure today. Case in point, the Soviet Union left its detestable legacy throughout Central Asia that robbed countries such as Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, and others of their unique culture, national identity, environment, and personal and economic freedoms.
Even with the fall of the Soviet Union, the Russian regime, along with China’s economic efforts, continue to shape and influence most of Central Asia to the detriment of American interests. Several regional actors are adopting un-democratic and repressive policies that cost the lives and economic empowerment of their people. By all accounts, a new Great Game in Central Asia has been created increasing repression, debt traps, and shoddy investments.
Central Asia is ground-zero for the advancement of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), an international organization that was formed in 2001 to primarily project Russian and Chinese diplomatic and economic influence. The SCO has played a critical role in deploying economic and security coercion policies that have established puppet regimes throughout Central Asia.
