Head of the Dragon’ or ‘Trojan Horse’

Reassessing China–Greece Relations

Bibliographic Data

ID12422322
AuthorsDimitrios Stroikos (0000-0002-1588-1969, Department of International Relations and LSE IDEAS, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), London, UK, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume32
Issue142
Pages602-619
Publication date2022-04-28
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Contemporary China (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1067-0564 • E-ISSN: 1469-9400
PublisherRoutledge (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/10670564.2022.2067743
OpenAlexW4225141023
LanguageEN
Citations received9

China’s meteoric economic rise has precipitated a debate about its growing profile in Europe through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). In this context, for some observers Greece serves as an illustration of how China is also translating its economic power into actual political influence over small European states to Brussels’ disadvantage. This article challenges such simplistic and state-centric views by considering the role of contingent and domestic factors and the wider strategic environment in which Sino-Greek relations have unfolded. It also highlights the agency of influential actors at the more micro-level of analysis. It argues that although China has achieved some limited political gains, the relationship remains mainly economics-driven at a time when Greece is strengthening strategic ties with its traditional allies

Agency (philosophy · China · Context (archaeology · Disadvantage · Economics · Economy · Geography · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Power (physics · Social science · Sociology · State (computer science · Trojan horse · European Union Policy and Governance · Law

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Open DOIOpen Access