The Belt and Road Initiative and Comprehensive Regionalism in Central Asia

Qoraboyev, Ikboljon; Moldashev, Kairat

The Belt and Road Initiative and Comprehensive Regionalism in Central Asia

in Mayer, Maximilian (ed.), Rethinking the Silk Road. China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Emerging Eurasian Relations, Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5915-5_7

14 Pages Posted: 19 Jan 2018 Last revised: 30 Dec 2020

See all articles by Ikboljon Qoraboyev

Ikboljon Qoraboyev

Higher School of Economics of KAZGUU University

This chapter contributes to comparative regionalism studies by exploring the Belt and Road Initiative (BR) as an emerging regionalism project. We start by stating a need for broad conceptual frameworks to study the BR dynamics and consider the “world of regions” framework as such an alternative to mere geopolitical approaches. Subsequently, we evaluate BR as a regional initiative based on China-Central Asia relations. The last section discusses the perspective of the BR in Central Asia by exploring identity issues and regional peculiarities. We argue that the success of the BR in Central Asian depends on its ability to contribute to political independence, provide economic opportunity, and strengthen security in the region.

Keywords: Belt and Road Initiative; Rise of China; New Eurasia; Multilateralism

JEL Classification: F02, F18, F50

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Qoraboyev, Ikboljon and Moldashev, Kairat, The Belt and Road Initiative and Comprehensive Regionalism in Central Asia (2018). in Mayer, Maximilian (ed.), Rethinking the Silk Road. China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Emerging Eurasian Relations, Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5915-5_7, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3100827