Geopolitical Dimension of the Old and the Modern Silk Road

Year 2023, , 37 - 54, 30.05.2023

Sanja Stošić

https://doi.org/10.58648/inciss.1261184

Abstract

The old Silk Road, that connected the West and East, was a center of cultural and trade interaction in the Asian continent from China to the Mediterranean Sea, but in 2013 it was referred by the Chinese president Xi Jinping as “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR), which announced that China would fund a New Silk Road Economic Belt across Eurasia to connect China with Europe, the Middle East, and South Asia. Different from the old Silk Road, current Silk Road includes the flow of financial services, information, technology as well as the Chinese initiative to strengthen connectivity in Central Asia and beyond. Comparing the modern Silk Road with the old Silk Road, in this paper we focus on China’s regional and international expansion, and the relevance of new Silk Road as one of the current largest programmes of economic diplomacy. Thereby, by using the qualitative descriptive methodology and interdisciplinary approach, this paper demonstrates that the new Silk Road comprises a new global order; therefore, it must be seen as the link between the past, present, and future. That is why its concept must be analyzed with reference to the old Silk Road, but also in wider geopolitical context.

Keywords

Silk Road, BRI, geopolitics, Southeast Asia, globalization

Supporting Institution

Institute for Political Studies

Eski ve Modern İpek Yolunun Jeopolitik Boyutu

Abstract

Batıyla doğuyu birbirine bağlayan eski İpek Yolu, Çin’den Akdeniz’e Asya kıtasındaki kültürel ve ticari etkilemişimin merkezi olmasının yanı sıra Çin Devlet Başkanı Xi Jinping tarafından “Tek Kuşak, Tek Yol (OBOR)” sloganıyla anılmıştır. Çin bu sloganla birlikte Avrupa, Orta Doğu ve Güney Asya’yla ilişkiler kurmak amacıyla Avrasya boyunca uzanan Yeni İpek Yolu Ekonomik Kuşağı’nı finanse edeceğini duyurmuştur. Eski İpek Yolundan farklı olarak mevcut İpek Yolu; Çin’in Orta Asya ve ötesindeki bağlantıları güçlendirmeye yönelik girişimlerinin yanı sıra finansal hizmetler, bilişim ve teknoloji akışını kapsamaktadır. Modern İpek Yolu’yla eski İpek Yolu’nu karşılaştıran bu çalışmada Çin’in bölgesel ve uluslararası boyutlarda genişlemesiyle birlikte güncel en büyük ekonomik diplomasi programlarından biri olarak yeni İpek Yolu’nun önemini ele almaktayız. Nitel betimsel metodoloji ve interdisipliner yaklaşımın kullanıldığı bu çalışma; yeni İpek Yolu’nun yeni bir küresel düzen oluşturduğunu ve bu nedenle geçmiş, bugün ve gelecek arasında bir bağlantı olarak görülmesi gerektiğini gözler önüne sermektedir. Dolayısıyla bu konu, “Çin Küreselleşmesi (Chiglobalization)” kapsamında ve daha geniş bir jeopolitik bağlamda eski İpek Yolu’na atıfta bulunarak analiz edilmelidir.

Keywords

İpek Yolu, Kuşak-Yol Projesi, jeopolitik, Güneydoğu Asya, küreselleşme

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