The Belt’s buckle and beyond. On China’s power through its Belt and Road initiative using the case of Kazakhstan

Since its introduction, the Belt and Road initiative (BRI) has become a central Chinese foreign policy project and has consequently received a lot attention in the international sphere. By referring to ancient Silk Road times, China shows it is dedicated to take an inclusive approach by its desire to develop the initiative in all the countries that are willing to cooperate. One could argue that it is a product of China’s rise to becoming an economic and political heavy-weight over the last decades. Therefore, it is important for scholars to better understand the Chinese BRI. This paper seeks to contribute to this understanding by investigating the specific case of the BRI in Kazakhstan. As the largest country of the Central Asian region in terms of land, Kazakhstan holds a key position in the BRI as the area that will connect China to the Middle-East and Europe. This study aims to build on the idea that the BRI qualifies as a Chinese strategy in conducting this case study research....Show moreSince its introduction, the Belt and Road initiative (BRI) has become a central Chinese foreign policy project and has consequently received a lot attention in the international sphere. By referring to ancient Silk Road times, China shows it is dedicated to take an inclusive approach by its desire to develop the initiative in all the countries that are willing to cooperate. One could argue that it is a product of China’s rise to becoming an economic and political heavy-weight over the last decades. Therefore, it is important for scholars to better understand the Chinese BRI. This paper seeks to contribute to this understanding by investigating the specific case of the BRI in Kazakhstan. As the largest country of the Central Asian region in terms of land, Kazakhstan holds a key position in the BRI as the area that will connect China to the Middle-East and Europe. This study aims to build on the idea that the BRI qualifies as a Chinese strategy in conducting this case study research. To produce such a study, this paper will draw on the framework of power as introduced by influential political scientist and assistant Secretary of Defense under former president Bill Clinton, Joseph S. Nye. In the remainder of this paper, Nye’s concepts of hard, soft and smart power will be understood as mechanisms for influence when looking at the Chinese BRI in Kazakhstan. More specifically, the ambition of this paper is to investigate whether China is combining hard and soft power elements in Kazakhstan into a strategy that could be understood as smart power.Show less

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The Belt’s buckle and beyond. On China’s power through its Belt and Road initiative using the case of Kazakhstan