Abstract
The implications of China’s rise for the future of the liberal international order have been the object of intense debate since the mid-1990s. As a platform for international cooperation promoted by China, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has more recently revived this debate. While some see the BRI as a radical challenge to the liberal international order, others consider the initiative as Beijing’s attempt at adjusting—rather than contesting—the existing order to its own preferences. In this respect, a critical component of the BRI’s impact lies in its space-shaping ambition: with several factors now contributing to a potential spatial fragmentation of international order, the BRI might play a major role in advancing or contrasting this trend. If the BRI remains focussed on Eurasia as China’s enlarged periphery, then it might work as a powerful driver of fragmentation, ultimately contributing to the demise of the liberal international order as a global order. On the contrary, if the BRI is articulated as a project with truly global ambitions, it might work as a driver of spatial integration, thus indirectly reinforcing “globality” as a central tenet of the future international order.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Acharya, Amitav. 2014. The End of American World Order. Cambridge: Polity.
Bernstein, Richard, and Ross H. Munro. 1997. China I. The Coming Conflict with America. Foreign Affairs 76 (2): 18–32.
Breslin, Shaune. 2016. China’s Global Goals and Roles: Changing the World from Second Place? Asian Affairs 47 (1): 59–70.
Brunnermeier, Markus, Rush Doshi, and Harold James. 2018. Beijing’s Bismarckian Ghosts: How Great Powers Compete Economically. The Washington Quarterly 41 (3): 161–176.
Caffarena, Anna. 2017. Diversity Management in World Politics. Reformist China and the Future of the (Liberal) Order. The International Spectator 52 (3): 1–17.
Caffarena, Anna, and Giuseppe Gabusi. 2019. China’s Belt and Road Initiative in Eurasia: Space Shaping as Ordering. In The EU in a Trans-European Space. External Relations across Europe, Asia and the Middle East, ed. Serena Giusti and Irina Mirkina, 65–85. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Campbell, Kurt M., and Ely Ratner. 2018. The China Reckoning: How Beijing Defied American Expectations. Foreign Affairs 97 (2): 60–70.
Chen, Zhimin. 2016. China, the European Union and the Fragile World Order. Journal of Common Market Studies 54 (4): 775–792.
Chen Weiss, Jessica, and Jeremy L. Wallace. 2021. Domestic Politics, China’s Rise, and the Future of the Liberal International Order. International Organization 75(2): 635-664.
Christensen, Thomas J. 2001. Posing Problems Without Catching Up: China's Rise and Challenges for U.S. Security Policy. International Security 25 (4): 5–40.
Colombo, Alessandro. 2010. La Disunità del Mondo. Dopo il Secolo Globale. Milano: Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Editore.
Declaración Especial de Santiago de la II Reunión Ministerial del Foro CELAC-China Sobre la Iniciativa de la Franja y la Ruta. 2018. Santiago, January 22.
Erickson, Andrew S., and Lyle J. Goldstein. 2009. Introduction. Chinese Perspectives on Maritime Transformation. In China Goes to Sea. Maritime Transformation in Comparative Historical Perspective, ed. Andrew S. Erickson, Lyle J. Goldstein, and Carnes Lord, xiii–xxvi. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press.
Flockhart, Trine. 2016. The Coming Multi-Order World. Contemporary Security Policy 37 (1): 3–30.
Friedberg, Aaron L. 1994. Ripe for Rivalry: Prospects for Peace in a Multipolar Asia. International Security 18 (3): 5–33.
Gilpin, Robert. 1981. War and Change in World Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Glaser, Charles L. 2019. A Flawed Framework: Why the Liberal International Order Concept Is Misguided. International Security 43 (4): 51–87.
Goldstein, Avery. 1998. Great Expectations: Interpreting China’s Arrival. International Security 22 (3): 36–73.
Ikenberry, G. John. 1998. Institutions, Strategic Restraint, and the Persistence of American Postwar Order. International Security 23 (3): 43–78.
Ikenberry, G. John. 2008. The Rise of China and the Future of the West. Can the Liberal System Survive? Foreign Affairs 87 (1): 23–37.
Ikenberry, G. John. 2011. Liberal Leviathan. The Origins, Crisis, and Transformation of the American World Order. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Ikenberry, G. John. 2018. The End of Liberal International Order? International Affairs 94 (1): 7–23.
Jones, Lee. 2020. Does China’s Belt and Road Initiative Challenge the Liberal, Rules-Based Order? Fudan Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences 13: 113–133.
Keohane, Robert O. 1984. After Hegemony. Cooperation and Discord in the World Political Economy. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Kindleberger, Charles P. 1987. The World in Depression 1929–1939. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.
Layne, Christopher. 2018. The US–Chinese Power Shift and the End of the Pax Americana. International Affairs 94 (1): 89–111.
Leverett, Flynt, and Wu Bingbing. 2016. The New Silk Road and China’s Evolving Grand Strategy. The China Journal 77: 110–132.
Mazarr, Michael J. 2017. The Once and Future Order: What Comes After Hegemony? Foreign Affairs 96 (1): 25–32.
Mearsheimer, John J. 2001. The Tragedy of Great Power Politics. New York: W.W. Norton.
Mearsheimer, John J. 2019. Bound to Fail: The Rise and Fall of the Liberal International Order. International Security 43 (4): 7–50.
Ni, Lexiong. 2007. Cong Luquan Dao Haiquan de Lishi Biran. Jian yu Ye Zicheng Jiaoshou Shangque (The Historical Necessity of a Transition from Land Power to Sea Power. A Discussion with Prof. Ye Zicheng). Shijie Jingji yu Zhengzhi (World Economics and Politics) 327: 22–32.
Niblett, Robin. 2017. Liberalism in Retreat: The Demise of a Dream. Foreign Affairs 96 (1): 17–24.
Nicolas, Françoise. 2016. China and the Global Economic Order. A Discreet Yet Undeniable Contestation. China Perspectives 2016 (2): 7–14.
Nordin, Astrid H.M., and Mikael Weissmann. 2018. Will Trump Make China Great Again? The Belt and Road Initiative and International Order. International Affairs 94 (2): 231–249.
Norrlof, Carla. 2018. Hegemony and Inequality: Trump and the Liberal Playbook. International Affairs 94 (1): 63–88.
Nye, Joseph S. 2017. Will the Liberal Order Survive? The History of an Idea. Foreign Affairs 96 (1): 10–16.
Office of the Leading Group for Promoting the Belt and Road Initiative. 2019. The Belt and Road Initiative. Progress, Contributions and Prospects. http://www.china.org.cn/business/2019-04/25/content_74717581.htm. Accessed 19 July 2021.
Parsi, Vittorio Emanuele. 2018. Titanic. Il Naufragio dell’Ordine Liberale. Bologna: Il Mulino.
Pavlićević, Dragan and Nicole Talmacs. 2022. Introduction. In The China Question: Contestations and Adaptations, ed. Dragan Pavlićević and Nicole Talmacs. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
PRC Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 2018a. The 8th Ministerial Meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum (CASCF) Held in Beijing. July 10. https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/zxxx_662805/t1576621.shtml. Accessed 19 July 2021.
PRC Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 2018b. Beijing Declaration. Toward an Even Stronger China-Africa Community with a Shared Future. September 12. https://www.focac.org/eng/zywx_1/zywj/t1594324.htm. Accessed 19 July 2021.
PRC Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 2018c. Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Beijing Action Plan (2019–2021). September 12. https://www.focac.org/eng/zywx_1/zywj/t1594297.htm. Accessed 19 July 2021.
PRC National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of Commerce, with State Council Authorization. 2015. Vision and Actions on Jointly Building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. http://2017.beltandroadforum.org/english/n100/2017/0410/c22-45.html. Accessed 19 July 2021.
Rolland, Nadège. 2017. China’s “Belt and Road Initiative”: Underwhelming or Game-Changer? The Washington Quarterly 40 (1): 127–142.
Roy, Denny. 1994. Hegemon on the Horizon? China’s Threat to East Asian Security. International Security 19 (1): 149–168.
Segal, Gerald. 1996. East Asia and the “Constrainment” of China. International Security 20 (4): 107–135.
Shambaugh, David. 1996. Containment or Engagement of China? Calculating Beijing’s Responses. International Security 21 (2): 180–209.
Stokes, Doug. 2018. Trump, American Hegemony and the Future of the Liberal International Order. International Affairs 94 (1): 133–150.
Wang, Jisi. 2012. “Xi Jin”, Zhongguo Diyuan Zhanlüe de Zai Pingheng (“March West”, Rebalancing China’s Geo-Strategy). Huanqiu Shibao (Global Times). October 17. http://opinion.huanqiu.com/opinion_world/2012-10/3193760.html. Accessed 19 July 2021.
Wu, Xinbo. 2018. China in Search of a Liberal Partnership International Order. International Affairs 94 (5): 995–1018.
Xi, Jinping. 2013a. Gongtong Jianshe “Sichou zhi Lu Jingji Dai” (Building Together a “Silk Road Economic Belt”). In Xi Jinping Tan “Yi Dai Yi Lu” (Xi Jinping on “One Belt, One Road”), 1–5. Beijing: Zhongyang Wenxian Chubanshe.
Xi, Jinping. 2013b. Gongtong Jianshe Ershiyi Shiji “Haishang Sichou zhi Lu” (Building Together a 21st Century “Maritime Silk Road”). In Xi Jinping Tan “Yi Dai Yi Lu” (Xi Jinping on “One Belt, One Road”), 10–13. Beijing: Zhongyang Wenxian Chubanshe.
Xi, Jinping. 2017a. Zai “Yi Dai Yi Lu” Guoji Hezuo Gaofeng Luntan Yuanzhuo Fenghui Shang de Bimu Ci (Closing Remarks at the Leaders’ Roundtable of the BRI Forum for International Cooperation). In Xi Jinping Tan “Yi Dai Yi Lu” (Xi Jinping on “One Belt, One Road”), 197–200. Beijing: Zhongyang Wenxian Chubanshe.
Xi, Jinping. 2017b. Juesheng Quanmian Jiancheng Xiaokang Shehui, Duoqu Xin Shidai Zhongguo Tese Shehuizhuyi Weida Shengli (Secure a Decisive Victory in Building a Moderately Prosperous Society in All Respects and Strive for the Great Success of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era). Renmin Ribao (People’s Daily), October 28, 1–5.
Xinhua. 2017a. Full Text: Joint Communique of Leaders Roundtable of Belt and Road Forum. http://www.xinhuanet.com//english/2017-05/15/c_136286378.htm. Accessed 19 July 2021.
Xinhua. 2017b. Zhongguo Gongchandang di Shijiu ci Quanguo Daibiao Dahui Mishuchu Fuzeren jiu Dang de Shijiu Da Tongguo de “Zhongguo Gongchandang Zhangcheng (Xiuzheng’an)” Da Jizhe Wen (Official of the CPC 19th National Party Congress Secretariat Answers Journalist Questions on “CPC Constitution (Amendment)” Passed by the 19th Party Congress). Renmin Ribao (People’s Daily), October 29, 5.
Xinhua. 2019. Joint Communique of the Leaders’ Roundtable of the 2nd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/zxxx_662805/t1658766.shtml. Accessed 19 July 2021.
Ye, Zicheng. 2007a. Luquan Fazhan yu Daguo Xingshuai. Diyuan Zhengzhi Huanjing yu Zhongguo Heping Fazhan de Diyuan Zhanlüe Xuanze (Land Power Development and the Rise and Fall of Great Powers. The Geopolitical Environment and the Geostrategic Choices for China’s Peaceful Development). Beijing: Xinxing Chubanshe.
Ye, Zicheng. 2007b. Zhongguo de Heping Fazhan: Luquan de Huigui yu Fazhan (China’s Peaceful Development: The Return and Development of Land Power). Shijie Jingji yu Zhengzhi (World Economics and Politics) 318: 23–31.
Yu, Hong. 2019. Reflections on the Belt and Road Initiative. China: An International Journal 17 (4): 8–23.
Zhang, Denghua. 2018. The Concept of “Community of Common Destiny” in China’s Diplomacy: Meaning, Motives and Implications. Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies 5 (2): 196–207.
Zhang, Wenmu. 2009. Lun Zhongguo Haiquan (On China’s Sea Power). Beijing: Haiyang Chubanshe.
Zhou, Weifeng, and Mario Esteban. 2018. Beyond Balancing: China’s approach Towards the Belt and Road Initiative. Journal of Contemporary China 112: 487–501.
Disclosure Statement
Part of the research for this chapter was conducted during visits to China in 2019. The author is grateful to the China Studies Program of the Confucius Institute Headquarters for financial support.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Dossi, S. (2022). China’s Rise, the Belt and Road Initiative and the Future of the Global Order. In: Pavlićević, D., Talmacs, N. (eds) The China Question. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-9105-8_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-9105-8_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-16-9104-1
Online ISBN: 978-981-16-9105-8
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)