Reconciling Different Approaches to Conceptualizing the Glocalization of the Belt and Road Initiative Projects
Julie Yu-Wen Chen
Abstract:
In response to the recently rising number of academic papers that empirically examine local variances in China’s Belt and Initiative (BRI) projects in various foreign lands, this paper points out the tension between attempts to theorize BRI projects. The Sino-localized approach and the assemblage theory were the two main attempts used by scholars from disparate academic disciplines to conceptualize local agency and to understand how local conditionalities, practices, and norms may affect the outcome of BRI projects. We need to examine their differences and similarities, and determine whether they are really irreconcilable. In addition, how their ontological differences lead to epistemological, methodological and analytical differences in studying BRI projects should be clarified as well.
Related Publications
-
China’s BRI Diplomacy: What it Means to India and India’s Rise
Introduction: In the post-COVID-19 world order, particularly, amidst intensifying great power competition and changing regional and global power dynamics, infrastructural advancement has taken on new and expanded significance. However, the […]
-
The Geopolitical Aftershocks of the China-Solomon Islands Security Agreement
Introduction: Chinese President Xi Jinping, shortly after taking office, remarked in 2012 that “the vast Pacific Ocean has ample space for China and the United States.” The comment was made at a […]
-
Legal Constraints of China’s BRI: The Case of Myanmar
Summary There are many consequences of China’s global Belt and Road Initiative. Amongst the least appreciated are the legal implications that arise from its investments. In Myanmar, one of the […]
-
Compatible Interests? The EU and China’s Belt and Road Initiative
Executive Summary While China and the European Union are at opposite ends of the Eurasian continent, booming trade, along with China’s rise as a global power, has made their relationship […]
-
Chinese Influence Networks in Finland: A Preliminary Case Study
Summary: The Communist Party of China has established networks of influence and intelligence in Finland, very similar to those observed in other democracies. The networks under survey in this paper […]
-
How Credible Is NATO’s Pivot to China?
Introduction: In June 2022, the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance (NATO) held its first summit since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Aptly described as “historic, transformative, game-changing,” the meeting […]