CHINA-PAKISTAN ECONOMIC CORRIDOR AND TECHNICIANS OF OPINION IN PAKISTANI TWITTERSPHERE: A THEMATIC CONTENT ANALYSIS

Abstract

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is most crucial trade route in contemporary South Asia which connects Pakistan’s Gwadar port located in Balochistan province and China’s Kashgar, shortening the Middle Eastern oil route for China. It happens to be a core project of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) which embodies Chinese alternative globalization and encompasses commercial and cultural routes and infrastructure in the participating countries. Although the BRI mainly involves the state institutions of the participating nations, the historic nature of cultural, political and economic relationships of these countries with China affect the political engagement and shape the public discussion about the BRI and its regional projects including the CPEC. Just like each participating country, Pakistan also attaches discrete significance to BRI and puts extraordinary emphasis to secure its respective regional and economic interests, while China has also boosted its public and cultural diplomacy to make ground for its successful execution. This study has undertaken a thematic analysis of the contents produced by ‘opinion technicians’ on Twitter from Pakistan during and immediately after China’s Second Belt Road Forum (2019) as Pierre Bourdieu asserts that officials, opinion leaders, and leading institutions qualify to become the opinion technicians and shape dominant public opinion by the application of framing and priming in the light of local politics and agendas. The study found that the technicians of opinion are effectively adopting the multi-thematic discourse, and portray the CPEC as landmark project which has already started economic and industrial transformation in Pakistan and also holds potential benefits such as poverty alleviation, foreign investments and extended access to Chinese markets to exemplify the win-win cooperation in near future.

Keywords

• BRI,CPEC,Belt and Road Forum,Alternative globalization,win-win cooperation,Pakistan,Twitter

ÇİN-PAKİSTAN EKONOMİ KORİDORU VE PAKİSTAN TWITTER UZAMINDA KANAAT TEKNİSYENLERİ: BİR TEMATİK İÇERİK ANALİZİ

Abstract

Çin-Pakistan Ekonomik Koridoru (CPEC), günümüzde Güney Asya’da Çin’in Orta Doğu’daki petrol ticareti hattını kısaltan en önemli rota kabul edilen bir ticaret yolu olarak Pakistan’ın Belucistan eyaletindeki Gwadar limanını Çin’in Kaşgar bölgesini birbirine bağlamaktadır. Bu ticaret yolu, Çin’in alternatif küreselleşme projesi olan ve katılımcı ülkelerdeki ticari ve kültürel etkileşim yollarını kapsayan Kuşak ve Yol Girişimi (KYG) temel bileşenlerinden birini oluşturmaktadır. KYG, esas olarak katılımcı ülkelerin devlet kurumları dolayımındaki siyasi ilişkileri içermesine rağmen bu ülkelerin Çin'le olan kültürel, siyasi ve ekonomik ilişkilerinin tarihsel arkaplanı söz konusu ülkelerin KYG’ye katılım biçimlerini etkilemekte ve o ülkelerdeki kamusal tartışmasını şekillendirmektedir. Pakistan da tıpkı KYG’nin diğer katılımcı ülkeleri gibi kendi bölgesel ve ekonomik çıkarlarını güvence altına almak için KYG’ye ve Çin’le olan ilişkilerine ciddi bir önem atfetmektedir. Çin’in de benzer bir şekilde KYG’nin daha fazla katılımcı ülkeye yönelik zemin oluşturması adına kamu ve kültürel diplomasi stratejilerini geliştirdi. Bu çalışma, Çin'in İkinci Kuşak ve Yol Forumu’nun (2019) hemen öncesinden hemen sonrasına kadarki süreçte, Pakistan'daki 'kanaat teknisyenlerinin' Twitter’da ürettikleri içeriklere tematik içerik analizi uygulamıştır. Pierre Bourdieu’ya göre, hızlı düşünürler olarak tanımlanabilen TV yorumcuları, akademisyenler, siyasi figürler ya da kurumlar gibi söylem üreten kamusal figürler, toplumdaki güncel siyasal tartışmalara yönelik toplumdaki hakim söylemi yeniden üreterek kanaat üreten kanaat teknisyenleri olmuştur. Çalışmanın temel bulgusu, Pakistan’daki kanaat teknisyenlerinin KYG’ye dair çoklu temaya sahip bir söylem ürettiğini ve CPEC’i Pakistan'da halihazırda ekonomik ve endüstriyel dönüşüme başlayan ve aynı zamanda yoksulluğun azaltılması gibi potansiyel faydaları gösteren bir dönüm proje olarak, yabancı yatırımlar ve yakın gelecekte kazan-kazan iş birliğini örneklemek için Çin pazarlarına genişletilmiş erişim gibi temalar etrafından tanımladığıdır.

Keywords

• alternatif küreselleşme,CPEC,Kuşak ve Yol Forumu,Kuşak ve Yol Girişimi,Kazan-Kazan işbirliği,Pakistan,Twitter

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