Does the “Belt and Road Initiative” Possess Soft Power?

Abstract

The Belt and Road initiative (BRI) discourse has generated political scholarship in the twenty-first century. It has implications in regional integrations and international politics. In order to realize BRI in full scale, there has to be a level of favorable engagement regarding concerned countries. Oppositional voices can foil the appeal of BRI resulting in the hesitation of nations to participate due to a mixed forecast of its success. A major concern is coercion which may alarm those who want to participate and those who are considering participation. Another is the use of soft power to facilitate favorable outcomes in transnational issues. Thus the assessment of soft power’s presence in BRI provides a comprehensive insight of its appeal. In international politics, soft power seeks to establish stable economic relations, a mutually beneficial relationship and avoids the means of coercion. Nye’s concept of soft power will be used to examine the features of soft power present in BRI. Soft power may resonate in BRI, but issues which are repulsive can curb the appeal of BRI.

Keywords

• Belt and Road Initiative
• soft power
• cultural exchange
• peaceful development
• China Dream
• foreign aid