Networks of International Relations, Structural Power, and China’s Belt and Road Initiative
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22206241 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Zhengqi Pan (0000-0001-9492-1983, Singapore University of Social Sciences, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 04 |
| Issue | 01 |
| Pages | 2150002 |
| Publication date | 2021-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | China and the World (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2591-7293 • E-ISSN: 2591-7307 |
| Publisher | World Scientific Pub Co Pte Lt (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1142/s2591729321500024 |
| OpenAlex | W3126735064 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 29 |
Reminiscent of the ancient Silk Road formed during the Han Dynasty, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) evokes powerful memories of China’s glorious past and has significant implications on international relations. Through a network analysis approach, this paper critically examines how and under what conditions the BRI is able to shape the structure of geo-economic and geopolitical interactions in China’s image. Given the highly interdependent nature of the world today, a country’s ability to exert geo-economic and geopolitical power in the international system will not only depend on its inherent economic and military capabilities, but also its position in global networks. This paper analyzes the dynamic evolution of China’s network centrality in trade and security affairs from 1990 to 2014, drawing on novel data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the Alliance Treaty Obligations and Provisions Project (ATOP). This paper argues that the BRI is likely to further enhance China’s central position in trade and global value chains (GVCs), but the overall structure of international security arrangements would remain largely unchanged, with the West still being highly dominant despite China’s rising political and military influence. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach and leveraging research on network science, international political economy, and security studies, this paper employs a structural perspective in understanding the geo-economic and geopolitical consequences of the BRI
Alliance · Centrality · China · Economic power · Economics · Economy · Geopolitics · Great power · Interdependence · International political economy · International relations · International trade · Political science · Politics · Treaty · China's Socioeconomic Reforms and Governance · Global trade and economics · International Development and Aid · Law
U.S. Relations with Southeast Asia in 2018
Open economy politics
Tracing Value-Added and Double Counting in Gross Exports
Accounting for intermediates
The Belt and Road Initiative’s effect on supply-chain trade
Power and liberal order
Global value chains in a post-Washington Consensus world
The governance of global value chains
The Belt & Road Initiative and China’s influence in Southeast Asia
Offensive for defensive
Trading Data
China's “Belt and Road Initiative”
The Essential Wallerstein
Network Analysis for International Relations
The persistent myth of lost hegemony,” revisited
Toward a political economy of complex interdependence
Silk Roads and Strings of Pearls
Westward ho-the China dream and 'one belt, one road
Measuring Alliances
Is the Belt and Road Initiative a Chinese Geo-Political Strategy
The Belt and Road Initiative
The US-Chinese power shift and the end of the Pax Americana
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |