ABSTRACT

This edited volume presents a trans-disciplinary and multifaceted assessment of the strategic and economic impacts of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) on three regions, namely Central Asia, Southeast Asia, and Central Eastern Europe.

The contributions to this book demonstrate the requirement of a more realistic view concerning the anticipated economic benefits of the New Silk Road. The contributors critique the strategic effects of China’s opaque long-term grand strategy on the regional and global political order. Specific countries that are covered are Finland, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Poland, and Thailand. Additionally, case studies from South Asia and Africa, notably India and Ethiopia, enable insightful comparisons.

Encouraging readers to critically challenge mainstream interpretations of the aims and impacts of the BRI, this book should interest academics and students from various disciplines including Political Science, International Relations, Political Geography, Sociology, Economics, International Development, and Chinese Studies.

chapter 1|20 pages

Making analytic sense of the Belt and Road Initiative

A plea for multi- and trans-disciplinary approaches and eclecticism

chapter 2|22 pages

The Belt and Road Initiative post-April 2019

Plus ça change!

chapter 6|19 pages

Malaysia and China’s Belt and Road Initiative

A trilogy of commitment problem, diplomacy, and strategic foreign policy

chapter 8|23 pages

The BRI, logistics, and global infrastructure

New world order, the game of Go, and the disposition of Shi

chapter 9|15 pages

China and the USA in Central Asia

Competing actors with different goals?

chapter 11|15 pages

From railway dreams to a reality check

Achievements and challenges of Sino-Polish relations at the local level – the case of Łódzkie-Sichuan partnership