China and India in Central Asia: A New 'Great Game'?

• Author: Hasham, Nadia
• Position: Book review

CHINA AND INDIA IN CENTRAL ASIA: A NEW "GREAT GAME"?

Marline Laruelle, Jean-Francois Huchet, Sebastien Peyrouse and Bayram Balci, eds.

(United States of America: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010), 268 pages.

With the emergence of Central Asia as a region full of economic promise and a bridge between the Near and Far East, the region has become a playing field for the competing interests of India and China.

Edited by Marline Laruelle, JeanFrancois Huchet, Sebastien Peyrouse and Bayram Balci, China and India in Central Asia is the latest in the Sciences-Po Series in International Relations and Political Economy, the aim of which is to assess the effect of current regional and global trends on international relations and the global economy. The title, a play on the historic British-Russian rivalry over Central Asia, sets the tone of the debate on the competition between the major rising powers in the region. The compilation consolidates the work of fifteen experts on the region, who write on varying aspects of China's and India's interests in Central Asia, as well as possibilities for conflict and cooperation.

Topics covered range from the geopolitics of the Russia-China-India power balance, including interest in Afghanistan and relations with Pakistan, to the economic presence of China and India in the region. Of...