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Begin New Search Topic International Trade and Finance Political Geography China Journal Uluslararasi Iliskiler

1. Beyond Geopolitics: A Geoeconomic Perspective of China-Iran Belt and Road Initiative Relations

Author:
Seyedashkan Madani
Publication Date:
06-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:
International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
Abstract:
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is the largest regional development project in the history of global development. It is estimated that Chinese companies will invest up to $1.2 trillion in infrastructure development in Asia and elsewhere in the coming years. However, there are many obstacles to the successful implementation of this initiative in the host countries, including geographical factors, local culture, geopolitical contestation, public attitudes, institutional capacity, and governance quality. These challenges can substantially diminish the coherence of the BRI and prevent its effective implementation. This study aims to develop an analytical framework for exploring the risks associated with and challenges of executing BRI projects in Iran. To this end, all risks are categorized into three broad groups: operational, financial, and geopolitical. The results show that Iran generally faces many internal and external challenges in attracting foreign investment. The critical question is: Why is Iran receiving substantial investment from Chinese companies despite its unfavorable business environment? A geoeconomic approach is used to develop a theoretical framework to explain Iran-China BRI relations. In this context, Iran’s geoeconomic significance is the main factor encouraging the flow of Chinese investment into the country. The BRI comprises mostly functional cooperation between China and countries along the Silk Road based on a specific geospatial environment. Iran’s geospatial environment encourages Chinese investments in infrastructure, which is the main content of functional cooperation.
Topic:
Development, International Trade and Finance, Infrastructure, and Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)
Political Geography:
China and Asia

2. ‘Community of Common Destiny’ as Post-Western Regionalism: Rethinking China’s Belt and Road Initiative from a Confucian Perspective

Author:
Raoul Bunskoek and Chih-yu Shih
Publication Date:
06-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:
International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
Abstract:
Conventional explanations of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) focus on how the BRI will be in China’s interest, how it will strengthen China’s geopolitical position, or a combination of the two. We argue that such views are limited because they merely interpret the BRI through ‘Western’ IR lenses. This paper ‘re-worlds’ China by using the BRI as a case study to illustrate how in the discursive field(s) of China’s elite, China as a Westphalian nation state, and China as amorphous Tianxia under Confucianism coexist, struggle for recognition, and are interrelated. Consequently, we argue that China, because of the economic miracle it created domestically over the last few decades, is now convinced of its own ‘moral superiority’, and ready to export its self-perceived ‘benevolence’ abroad. In this light, we read the BRI to be undergirded by a combination of ‘Western’ and Confucian values, suggesting a post-Western/post-Chinese form of regionalism.
Topic:
International Trade and Finance, Infrastructure, Hegemony, Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and Regionalism
Political Geography:
China and Asia

3. Uluslararası Güç Dengeleri Bağlamında Uluslararası Finans Sisteminin Yeniden Yapılandırılması: Disiplinlerarası Bir Değerlendirme

Author:
Gökhan Özkan
Publication Date:
10-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Abstract:
The global financial crisis triggered debate on restructuring international financial system. In this study, restructuring process of the international financial system is evaluated within the context of international balance of power. It is argued that it is insufficient to focus only on the economic dimension, but restructuring should be evaluated by taking into account international political dynamics. This work looks at how differences of opinion between the developed countries, particularly the G-7 countries and the developing (emerging?) countries, particularly Brazil, Russia, India and China shape the process. It is anticipated that the restructuring process will proceed at a modest pace because of the asymmetry of interests and the gap between the understandings of the developing and developed countries about reforming the decision-making mechanisms of the IMF and the World Bank and the diversification of the international monetary system. It is concluded that the new shape of the international financial architecture will depend on the international politics and balance of power as well as the evolution of the global crisis and the economic dynamics.
Topic:
International Trade and Finance, International Monetary Fund, Financial Crisis, and World Bank
Political Geography:
Russia, China, India, and Brazil