ABSTRACT
Political leaders of great states, who in private life and in domestic politics may be sane, intelligent, peaceable and morally earnest, are seen to use their power abroad in a violent and ruthless manner for reasons which can appear ludicrous to posterity and even to many of their contemporaries. A hundred years ago most politically conscious people in Great Britain and Russia regarded the other’s government with fear and mistrust. For about eighty years, roughly from 1828 to 1908, the ever-growing Asian empires of Russia and Great Britain and the recurring tension between them were central to international politics on the whole Eurasian land mass. Empire-building and the conflict of neighbouring empires have been normal ever since the emergence of political units powerful enough for the purpose. Much of the explanation will be found in the speculative framework used to identify the dangers and opportunities they must deal with if their sense of understanding and control is to be sustained.
