A GEOPOLITICAL ANALYSIS OF BELT AND ROAD INITIATIVE FROM PERSPECTIVE OF CHINA

Authors : Yiğit Karasu

Pages : 113-133

View : 103 | Download : 79

Publication Date : 2024-01-03

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :As a rising power, China desire to a greater place on the world stage. As a result of this desire, China has launched the Belt and Road Initiative in order to gain geopolitical and economic power. Belt and Road Initiative consists of two main parts called "Silk Road Economic Belt” (SREB) and ‘’Century Maritime Silk Road Project’’ (MSRP). The aim of this article is to comparatively analyze these two main parts of Belt and Road Initiative from a geopolitical perspective. In this way, we will have the chance to analyze the geopolitical gains of the project and it will be revealed which leg of the initiative is more sustainable and safer in terms of Chinese geopolitics. In the first part of the article, the Belt and Road Initiative is introduced in general terms and the geopolitics of the initiative is explained. In the second part, the ‘’Silk Road Economic Belt’’, which constitutes the land part of the initiative, is examined under the headings of transportation, energy security, power vacuum in Central Asia, stability in Central Asia and the future of the Chinese Communist Party. In the third chapter, the ‘’Maritime Silk Road Project’’, which constitutes the sea leg of the Belt and Road Initiative, is discussed under the headings of geopolitical rivals, armament and security dilemma. The study concluded that for China, the land leg of the Belt and Road Initiative brings more geopolitical gains than the sea leg. Other aims of the article are to better promote China\'s Belt and Road Initiative and to accurately understand what geopolitical gains and obstacles this initiative creates for China in the future.
Keywords : Kuşak ve Yol Girişimi, Enerji Güvenliği, Çin, Jeopolitik, Orta Asya, Yeni İpek Yol Projesi