Customer Reviews

The Dust of Empire: The Race for Mastery in The Asian Heartland

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In this short, readable book (in part an update of Tournament of Shadows), Meyer first provides some background on imperial competition among the British, the Russians, and the Americans in Southwest and Central Asia. Subsequent chapters describe recent history in Iran, Afghanistan, the Caucasus, and the Central Asian republics that once were part of the Soviet Union. Meyer's writing is clear, lively, and well-informed; events are placed in context, and are illuminated with sharply observed detail. While the discussion of issues is relatively light, this is an eye-opening introduction for those not already knowledgeable about the region.

Meyer did history a service when he reopened the classic account of the struggle for central asia through the ages in his rather more famous "Tournament of Shadows." This, more slender, volume is written in less grandiose style, but still is a call for the greater world (and especially Americans) to understand the region as a whole in its historical, cultural and geopolitical context.

The style is more of a Cook's tour with chapters dedicated to each of the states in Central Asia.

I found however that Meyer offers enough to tease and entice on each country, but not quite enough to satify... just when the going got more in-depth and intriguing, it was time to move to another country. For those liking imperial 19th Century "Great Game" narratives, there is precious little in this volume. History is only a prop to put the country into its current context of understanding in the realm of power politics -- which it should be said, Meyer utlises both classical power politics and liberal theories in his explaination of how the world relates to central asia.

The one good thing I would add is this: instead of the current fashion of American historians and currrent events commentators concentrating on American interpretations -- American Oil, beltway politics, and the endless citing of each Presidential Administration's response to the politics of the region -- there is a general eagle-eye view that keeps the general interests and threats of all major actors in mind. He does this while reminding us of the human cost in terms of lives and lost rights, most often taken by states from their own people. As such morality looms large in his descriptions, though not necessarily proscriptions for the region.

For those who are interested in real analysis of world affairs and sick of the usual talking head suspects on the left or right, then this is a very intelligent, considered, and interesting overview.

Meyer's thesis seems to be that US dominance of sovereign countries is a bad thing. Using historical examples of American, British, and Russian imperialism, he makes this point well. But he never really explains why the Central Asian republics are at special risk for this kind of imperialism. The book seems on one hand to be about the risks of imperialism in general, and on the other hand a summary of recent Central Asian history.

I would have preferred two separate books--one on the dangers of imperialism, and one on the history and future of Central Asia. (The book may have been a bit rushed and its thesis may have been redirected by recent events) But nonetheless, the chapters are on their own all very interesting, and Meyer has a lot of insight about the situation.

But despite the structural flaws, I recommend this book highly to anyone interested in foreign policy or in recent Middle Eastern/Central Asian history.

Central Asia has always held our fascination: who, having heard of it, doesn't want to travel the Golden Road to Samarkand?

Central Asia has also always been fearsome ... from Timur to Ali Babba and now to Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein and the Ayatolla Khomeini.

But who in America knows with certainty that Samarkand is in Uzbekistan? Or even where the Caspian Sea is, or what countries border it?

Rudyard Kipling whetted our appetite with Kim (worth re-reading, by the way) and Peter Hopkirk led us by the hand through the days of the Great Game between Russia and England.

But now, we - the United States of America directly and all the world indirectly to one extent or another - are painfully and uneasily involved in Central Asia; and we are unlikely to extricate ourselves soon, and our children who are of an age to enlist are very much at risk. To say nothing of the hole in the middle of Downtown New York City.

But who knows anything about this Golden Road and this Golden Horde? Karl Meyer does, and he makes learning about these places and these people interesting reading. America, particularly, with its focus solely on the present, needs to be reminded that not only have these people been there a long time but also that America has long been involved without most of us even realizing it.

As The Ugly American of decades ago reminded us then that we have a responsibility and a duty to know something of the world we so much influence, The Dust of Empire does for today. It bears reading twice since it takes at least that to fix in our minds where and what Kyrgyzstan is.

Nonspecialists who seek a light-reading introduction to the rather loosely defined region - which Meyer refers to (fairly enough) as the "Asian Heartland" - taking in the Caucasus, former-Soviet Central Asia, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran can enjoy this book. Even nonspecialists can be disappointed, however, with the book's brevity and the author's tendency to meander about. The potential reader should be aware that Iraq, Turkey and Syria are specifically not covered in this book.

Considering that the book contains barely 200 pages of actual reading material, I found it tedious to plod through the first chapter, which is a rather general discussion of American and British imperialisms. It is not that this was difficult reading, but the pages were slipping away and I was eager to get to the main course. Even the second chapter (of just eight in total), which is about Russia and at least brings us finally to the continent in question, is slow to focus in on the main subject.

To the extent that Meyer actually describes the countries in the Asian heartland, the book provides a good introduction. But this is only an introduction. Hopefully, this will be enough to stimulate one to look to the bibliography or the shelf of one's local library or book store to read further.

Meyer is a good writer and knows the region. I just wish he had written more about these lands and digressed less on the likes, for example, of American television viewing habits, the 2000 presidential election, Leninism and 19th century European imperialism in Africa. This is a book to borrow, rather than a keeper to add to your bookshelf.

(I would give it 3-1/2 stars if that were possible. Because I think some readers will be a bit disappointed that the book isn't more solid, I feel that I have to round downward rather than upward.)

Few parts of the world are as unknown to the modern world, yet as influential as Central Asia; that stretch of land starting at Iraq in the Southwest, going up thru the former USSR republics in the Northwest, and extending through Mongolia in the East. Yet this area of nowheres is laced with roads that lead to every great empire on the Eurasian continent. For centuries great empires and conquerors have blindly entered this vast land of deserts, grasslands and mountain ranges. Their purposes were varied; outflanking enemies, establishing trading outposts, seeking new allies, or searching for oil. But in all cases, they often got a lot more than what they bargained for. This is the fundamental thesis of this book. The second, unspoken theme is that Westerners never seem to learn their lesson.

Starting with Alexander the Great, continuing with the British and Russians during the great game of the 1800s, and now with America in the late 20th and early 21st century, western governments have often gotten involved in this region, usually without consulting or even letting their populations know what they were doing. The most recent adventures by America during the Afghan war of the 1980s led to the rise of the Taliban and Al Queda, and eventually the 9/11 attacks. This book's author lightly veiled opinion is that America has not learned the lessons of Britain and Russia. The author surveys the region, country by country, and provides a historical summary of the West's and more recently, America's involvement in each place. The list includes Pakistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kashmir, Kazakhstan, and Iran. In each place, the author traces out America's involvement and alliances with some very unsavory characters, usually to the detriment of human rights and freedom within that region. Most of the major individuals are described, such as Osama bin Laden, President Musharaff in Pakistan, Omar Mullah in Afghanistan, and recent dictators of the various "stans" of the former USSR. And the most important character of all, oil, always lurks in the background.

The emphasis of the book is on recent history, and America's involvement. Hence there are some important backstory that is not elaborated on; such as America's overthrow of Mossadegh in the 1950s. There is a lot of material on America's formation of military alliances with the border states of Russia. Overall, the book is great. Its reading level is appropriate for college students on updwards, and the text flows quite easily. The style is a mix of textbookish history and journalistic writing, which together makes for enjoyable reading. I highly recommend this book.

If you want a cursory introduction into the Central Asian nations, and why these nations are so vital to understanding the problems of today, this is a good book to start.

Meyer wrote a book called the "Tournament of Shadows" about the race of the Great Empires (Russia, and Britain primarily) to controal the vast steppes that were home to Genghiz Khan.

Meyer decsribes the main players in the area including Iran, Russia, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Please note that Meyer ignores Turkey which of course has a natural influence on these nations because of the pan-Turkic nature of so many of the nations in Central Asia.

Overall Meyer educates the reader on how the British, Russian and now the Americans have tried to influence the area. Meyer's overall thesis seems to imply that the more the great imperial nations have tried to influence the nations of Central Asia,the worse the outcome has ultimately been. For example he argues that perhaps our help of the muhajadeen in Afghanistan during the 1980's only produced a cadre of fighters who became enemies of the US once we abandoned interest in that nation after the colapse of the Soviet Union.

Meyer, in my opinion, weakens his book by making meandering point s about the current Bush administration and other items of interest. For example, the 2000 election here in the US seems to have little to do with the cursory historical examination of Central Asia. Furthermore, whether the current administration is "multilateral" or not has little to do with whether or not we as a nation make a serious inroad into influencing these nations.

Meyer's final points about the level of interest Americans do not have towards this area is absolutely true however. Many analysts have pointed out that Central Asia is going to become host to a new "Great Game" because of the resources available in along the Silk road. Oil reserves, natural gas and the quixoitic lure of Islam beckons a siren call for nations such as the United States, Russia, China, Iran and Turkey.
As recent events in Ossentia have transpired these analysts may be correct.

Meyer is an effective writer and conveys the sense of history of Central Asia very well. This should be a welcome addition to your reading about this subject.

Karl Meyer has been both a journalist and an academic and it shows. He has an eye for the big picture, he puts his finger on the main issues, and doesn't hesitate to criticize policy decisions where need be. Unlike many journalists, he takes knowledge of history and culture as vital to understanding current events. In these things, he's an academic. But in his writing style (lite) and his inability to miss "juicy tidbits" whether all that relevant or not, he reflects a journalistic background. In any case, if your knowledge of the relationship of the USA with Russia, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Central Asia ("the Stans") or the Caucasus is rather shaky, you couldn't do better than to read THE DUST OF EMPIRES. If you have read a number of books on the various places just mentioned, or are looking for in-depth knowledge of say, former Soviet Central Asia or Afghanistan, then this volume may prove a bit basic for you.

While providing pocket histories and some cultural background, Meyer's chapters focus overall on the pitfalls of "indirect rule" and the legacies of imperialism. He uses Cuba as a classic example in his first chapter. The USA kicked out the Spaniards and set up a Cuban government, but maintained indirect control over that island for decades until Fidel Castro finally put a stop to it. This kind of rule from afar is what Meyer is referring to. Most empires have resorted to it over the centuries--the British in India and Africa, the French in Africa and Indochina, the Dutch in Indonesia and so on. Meyer criticizes this form of imperialism and says that it delegitimizes local leaders and creates a class of collaborators. In his very useful first chapter on Imperialism, Meyer warns against this sort of rule. Nobody listened. The US has set up that very sort of control again in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Some of the chapters are better organized and conceived than others, perhaps due to better knowledge on the author's part. I thought that the sections on Russia, Iran and Pakistan outshone the others. If you want really in depth information, you might be better served reading separate books on the different areas. Meyer has bitten off a lot here, and one might quarrel with certain directions he took, but the result is readable and will hold your interest. The bibliography is excellent and very useful; some better maps should have been included. Reading this book in conjunction with one of Robert Kaplan's works could give an interesting comparative perspective.

I think that, on the whole, this is a good starting point for readers looking to familiarize themselves, albeit somewhat briefly, with a number of nations of which most Americans are scarcely aware, if at all. While the previous reviewer's criticisms are certainly at least somewhat valid (Turkey gets almost entirely omitted, and the attempts to draw parallels with Bush II's foreign policy and its pitfalls do wander and seem a bit less developed than the rest of the book, although I thought they were better tied in to the general theme than did the other reviewer), I thought this a pretty fine little volume. It's not overly long, and it in no way attempts to be a comprehensive history of any of the countries, let alone of the entire region - but the bibliography is excellent, which fits with how I think this book was probably intended - a survey of the fallout from great power politics on modern Central Asia. In that regard, I think Meyer succeeds eminently.

The Dust of Empire deals with the vast region of Central Asia and the impact that empires of the West, from England to America, have had on the people who make their home there. Both the past and present are discussed as Meyer examines how politics and geopolitics have affected and created many of the characteristics and problems in this part of the world.

The countries that are covered in the book include Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, the former Central Asian provinces of the Soviet Union, the Caucasus region, and a country that is an empire itself, Russia.

Overall, I found the book to be interesting, with each section on each country offering an effective summary with all the relevant facts included. However, I felt there was not much beyond that. While I was engaged, I really didn't learn very much more. I also found (and I realize this might be due to the main thrust of the book itself) that analysis of the countries themselves and their domestic issues was often lacking, with more emphasis placed on the role these nations played in superpower and imperial interactions.

I would recommend reading the book as an introduction to Central Asia and the impact of the West there, but not if you are already somewhat familiar with the subject.