governance

Dr. Jean-Marc F. Blanchard's picture

The BRI is Dead? Long Live the BRI? Part IV-Bad Flail at the Rail(way) or How Not to Confront the BRI

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has generated so much commentary that it is conceivable that if one printed out all the relevant pages and laid them end-to-end the length might approach that of all the railway track laid under the aegis of the BRI![i] Further commentary seems even m

Dr. Jean-Marc F. Blanchard's picture

The BRI is Dead? Long Live the BRI? Part I: Present at the Creation

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which consists of two main components, the sea-focused Maritime Silk Road Initiative (MSRI) and the land-focused Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB), came into being in 2013.[1] Since Chinese President Xi Jinping launched the MSRI and the SREB, there has been considerable positive and negative froth about the BRI. Enthusiasts have lauded the BRI as a foundation for building a community of common interests, solving infrastructure gaps in the developing world, helping countries industrialize, expanding people-to-people exchanges, and pluralizing international relations.