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One of the reasons histories of the Great Game--the strategic rivalry between the British and Russian empires in Central Asia--remain popular is that their pages are filled with the exploits of larger-than-life adventurers.1The ill-fated British diplomat Sir Arthur Connolly and the flamboyant Russian "White General" Mikhail Skobelev are still familiar names in their respective countries. Yet, the important contribution made by German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck to the political intrigues that characterized this century-long competition for empire has been largely overlooked.2The fact that Bismarck's part in this drama as a clever manipulator of Anglo-Russian rivalry has remained obscure for so long is in itself a tribute to how subtly he played his diplomatic hand. His relative anonymity as a participant in no way implies a lack of interest or involvement. On the contrary, the fate of the tribal peoples inhabiting the distant Asian steppes was, in fact, a major focus of Bismarck's attention. Accordingly, he invested considerable time and effort in attempting to shape the course of events in that strife-torn region. Although this behavior may appear counterintuitive, given the lack of any obvious German interests in that region, it was rooted firmly in the logic of European power politics. The rise and fall of khanates in Central Asia was indeed a matter of profound indifference to Bismarck and other German leaders, but they were anything but indifferent about the close proximity of the Russian empire and its huge army on their eastern frontier. For that reason alone, the amount of men and materiel committed by the czar to campaigns aimed at extending his already vast domains farther south into Asia, and closer to British India, was of considerable consequence to Germany.
Strategic necessity pointed German policy in Central Asia in a certain direction--encouraging Russian entanglements on the periphery of Europe--but Bismarck's approach nevertheless bore the stamp of his distinct brand of statesmanship. In playing the Great Game, he borrowed heavily from the unique "engagement model" he had previously adopted toward the Eastern Question: endeavoring to lure the other Great Powers into a divisive battle over the spoils of the Ottoman Empire, Europe's chronic "sick man." This scheme found its most eloquent expression in...