Postmodern Imperialism: Geopolitics and the Great Games

by Eric Walberg

The game motif is useful as a metaphor for the broader rivalry between nations and economic systems with the rise of imperialism and the pursuit of world power. This game has gone through two major transformations since the days of Russian-British rivalry, with the rise first of Communism and then of Islam as world forces opposing imperialism. The main themes of Postmodern Imperialism: Geopolitics and the Great Games include: -US imperial strategy as an outgrowth of British imperialism, and its transformation following the ... Read More

The game motif is useful as a metaphor for the broader rivalry between nations and economic systems with the rise of imperialism and the pursuit of world power. This game has gone through two major transformations since the days of Russian-British rivalry, with the rise first of Communism and then of Islam as world forces opposing imperialism. The main themes of Postmodern Imperialism: Geopolitics and the Great Games include: -US imperial strategy as an outgrowth of British imperialism, and its transformation following the collapse of the Soviet Union; -the significance of the creation of Israel with respect to the imperial project; -the repositioning of Russia in world politics after the collapse of the Soviet Union; -the emerging role of China and Iran in Eurasia; -the emerging opposition to the US and NATO. This work brings these elements together in historical perspective with an understanding from the Arab/ Muslim world's point of view, as it is the main focus of all the "Great Games". It provides the tools to analyze the current game as it evolves. The Great Games of yore - Britain vs. Russia and their empires in the 19th century, and the US vs. the Soviet Union in the 20th century - no longer translate merely as the US vs. Russia or Russia/ China. A major new player is a collective one, NATO, which today is as vital as the emperor's clothes to justify the global reach of US imperialism. Today, the "playing field" - the geopolitical context - is broader, though Eurasia continues to be "center field", where most of the world's population and energy resources lie. "Those who think that the "Great Game" played for control of Central Asia is a superannuated relic of Europe's imperial past must read Walberg's epic corrective to their egregious error. In extensive, richly textured and carefully documented detail he reveals the evolution of this competition into the planetary quest for dominance it has become, as well as the imperatives animating its new "players," among whom many will find, to their surprise or consternation, tiny Israel and its symbiotic liaison with America Inc. Prime imperial architect, Zbigniew Brzezinski actually called the blood-soaked playing field The Grand Chessboard, but like all his rapacious forbears omitted to mention the pawns. Walberg places them at the heart of this much needed remediation of the sinister falsehoods propagated in a political culture manufactured from above..." PAUL ATWOOD, Senior Lecturer in American Studies, University of Massachusetts and author of War and Empire: The American Way of Life (2010). Postmodern Imperialism is a continuation of Kwame Nkrumah's Neocolonialism: The Last Stage of Imperialism (1965) and carries forward the struggle of the pen against the sword." -GAMAL NKRUMAH, international editor, Al-Ahram Weekly, Cairo "Walberg's provocative work traces the transformation of the imperial world through the twentieth century. It is sure to spark discussion about the theory of imperialism and the dialectic of history. -JOHN BELL, author of Capitalism and the Dialectic (2009) "Walberg's book is a sharp and concise energizer package required to understand what may follow ahead of the Great 2011 Arab Revolt and related geopolitical earthquakes. It's a carefully argued-and most of all, cliche-smashing-road map showing how the New Great Game in Eurasia is in fact part of a continuum since the mid-19th century. Particularly refreshing is how Walberg characterizes Great Games I, II and III-their strategies and their profiteers. Walberg also deconstructs an absolute taboo-at least in the West: how the US/Israeli embrace has been a key feature of the modern game. It will be hard to understand the complex machinery of post-imperialism without navigating this ideology-smashing road map." -Pepe Escobar, roving correspondent for Asia Times, author of Globalistan: How the Globalized World is Dissolving into Liquid War (2007) Read Less