Young People and the Belt and Road:Opportunities and Challenges in Central and Eastern Europe 


Book Description

Young People and the Belt and Road is a joint effort by over 40 young people across 20 countries to tell their stories about the future of Central and Eastern Europe, China, and the Belt and Road Initiative. In 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative, which envisions a world with better development, better connectivity, and better cooperation was launched in Kazakhstan,. As a global, multi-generational vision, the Belt and Road Initiative will primarily benefit the young people of the world today. To ensure the success of the Initiative, their voices need to be heard. This is particularly urgent as little systematic work has been done to encourage the participation of young people. This publication places the focus on young people and asks them the question: what should the Belt and Road Initiative look like for you? In this book, young authors from 16 Central and Eastern European nations share insights about their countries. For the Belt and Road Initiative, Central and Eastern Europe plays a critical role in linking together Western Europe, Northern Europe, Central Asia, and East Asia. Each chapter focuses on a single country in the region. Based on the complex historical background and present realities of their respective countries, the authors present their cases of the potential obstacles and opportunities related to the Initiative and provide their suggestions for change. 《青年與一帶一路》一書是由超過20個國家、40位年輕人共同努力的成果。他們討論中國及16個中東歐國家在一帶一路倡議的機遇與挑戰。由於這是中文讀本較少涉及的領域,而且都是所屬國家的年輕人執筆,所以彌足珍貴。事實上,這些國家在聯繫歐洲及亞洲方面,都扮演著關鍵的角色。他們大都是上世紀90年代以後,由前蘇聯加盟共和國獨立,之後大部分成為歐盟及北約一員,而每個國家都有著複雜悠久的歷史、獨特的自然及人文資源,以及不同程度的發展。




China's Belt and Road: A Game Changer?


Book Description

Officially announced by Xi Jinping in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has since become the centrepiece of China’s economic diplomacy. It is a commitment to ease bottlenecks to Eurasian trade by improving and building networks of connectivity across Central and Western Asia, where the BRI aims to act as a bond for the projects of regional cooperation and integration already in progress in Southern Asia. But it also reaches out to the Middle East as well as East and North Africa, a truly strategic area where the Belt joins the Road. Europe, the end-point of the New Silk Roads, both by land and by sea, is the ultimate geographic destination and political partner in the BRI. This report provides an in-depth analysis of the BRI, its logic, rationale and implications for international economic and political relations.




Global Trends 2040


Book Description

"The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic marks the most significant, singular global disruption since World War II, with health, economic, political, and security implications that will ripple for years to come." -Global Trends 2040 (2021) Global Trends 2040-A More Contested World (2021), released by the US National Intelligence Council, is the latest report in its series of reports starting in 1997 about megatrends and the world's future. This report, strongly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, paints a bleak picture of the future and describes a contested, fragmented and turbulent world. It specifically discusses the four main trends that will shape tomorrow's world: - Demographics-by 2040, 1.4 billion people will be added mostly in Africa and South Asia. - Economics-increased government debt and concentrated economic power will escalate problems for the poor and middleclass. - Climate-a hotter world will increase water, food, and health insecurity. - Technology-the emergence of new technologies could both solve and cause problems for human life. Students of trends, policymakers, entrepreneurs, academics, journalists and anyone eager for a glimpse into the next decades, will find this report, with colored graphs, essential reading.




China's Belt and Road Initiative and Its Impact in Central Asia


Book Description

China¿s Belt and Road (BRI) Initiative was announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping in September 2013 at Nazarbayev University. It is therefore natural that, for its launch, the NAC-NU Central Asia Studies Program, in partnership with GW¿s Central Asia Program, seeks to disentangle the puzzle of the BRI Initiative and its impact on Central Asia. Selected from over 130 proposals, the papers brought together here offer a complex and nuanced analysis of China¿s New Silk Road project: its aims, the challenges facing it, and its reception in Central Asia. Combining methodological and theoretical approaches drawn from disciplines as varied as economics and sociology, and operating at both micro and macro levels, this collection of papers provides the most up-to-date research on China¿s BRI in Central Asia. It also represents the first step toward the creation of a new research hub at Nazarbayev University, aiming to forge new bonds between junior, mid-career, and senior scholars who hail from different regions of the world and belong to different intellectual traditions.




Innovations and Tactics for 21st Century Diplomacy


Book Description

In an era marked by escalating economic, social, and military confrontations, diplomacy plays a crucial role in managing conflicts and fostering cooperation among nations. Effective diplomatic efforts are essential for mitigating tensions, building alliances, and addressing global challenges in a manner that promotes stability and mutual understanding. To avoid the follies of the 20th century and instill progressive plans toward a positive future for all, an updated and comprehensive view of diplomacy is essential. Innovations and Tactics for 21st Century Diplomacy offers a thorough overview of current diplomatic strategies, and invaluable insights for scholars, policymakers, and practitioners in international relations. By integrating the latest research with innovative approaches and historical contexts, these chapters encourage critical thinking and promote further exploration into effective diplomatic methods that promote global progress. Covering topics such as citizen diplomacy, foreign policy, and international tensions, this book is a valuable resource for diplomats, international relations professionals, graduate and postgraduate students, educators, policy makers, government officials, and more.




The Political Economy Of China's Belt And Road Initiative


Book Description

Silk Road was once the most important economic-cultural tie connecting the Eurasian countries before the rise of the West. In September 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping put forward the initiative to jointly build the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, which is abbreviated as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). This book analyzes the BRI through the approach of political economy and establishes the analytic framework of BRI from historical and comparative perspectives. It clearly displays the strategic considerations, future vision, constructing framework, governmental actions, latest achievements, multiple opportunities and potential risks of BRI.As China's grand national development strategy and international cooperation initiative, the BRI will largely shape China's domestic and foreign policies in the Xi Jinping era. The book is the first academic monograph on the BRI and it enables readers to comprehensively understand this initiative and its implications to China, Eurasia and the world.




Belt And Road Initiative, The: Asean Countries' Perspectives


Book Description

ASEAN countries play a crucial role in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) that was initiated in 2013. A number of priority BRI projects have since been implemented. The implementation of BRI brings new opportunities and challenges to countries in the region, and also to regional integration.In this book, researchers from universities and think-tanks in ASEAN countries study the BRI from the perspective of regional studies. It presents an analysis of responses on BRI of the government and people from individual ASEAN members.The book addresses three areas: First, the strengths and weaknesses of ASEAN countries, and the opportunities and challenges for them in implementing the BRI (a SWOT analysis); second, the impacts of BRI on building the ASEAN community; and third, interactions between BRI and ASEAN-China cooperation.




Opportunities and Challenges for Multinational Enterprises and Foreign Direct Investment in the Belt and Road Initiative


Book Description

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is establishing significant connectivity networks, including a complex network of aviation e-services and trade network systems. It has promoted economic and financial development in regions covered by the BRI in terms of infrastructure construction and interconnection and attracted large foreign direct investment flows. At the bottom of the escalation of the China-US trade dispute is a more fundamental shift where China has become the US’s strategic competitor, and political-economic tensions have continued to climb. Opportunities and Challenges for Multinational Enterprises and Foreign Direct Investment in the Belt and Road Initiative analyzes the opportunities and challenges of multinational enterprises (MNEs) and cross-border foreign investments transactions. This valuable reference adopts an economic and international business perspective to address these issues and presents novel and state-of-the-art research insights into the role of MNEs and their influence on the Silk Road Economic Belt. Covering topics such as economic determinants, foreign direct investment promotion policies, and trade gravity model, this premier reference source is an excellent resource for business leaders and CEOs, policymakers, geopolitical experts, politicians, government officials, sociologists, libraries, students and educators of higher education, researchers, and academicians.




Capitalism and the Sea


Book Description

What keeps capitalism afloat? The global ocean has through the centuries served as a trade route, strategic space, fish bank and supply chain for the modern capitalist economy. While sea beds are drilled for their fossil fuels and minerals, and coastlines developed for real estate and leisure, the oceans continue to absorb the toxic discharges of our carbon civilization - warming, expanding, and acidifying the blue water part of the planet in ways that will bring unpredictable but irreversible consequences for the rest of the biosphere. In this bold and radical new book, Campling and Colás analyze these and other sea-related phenomena through a historical and geographical lens. In successive chapters dealing with the political economy, ecology and geopolitics of the sea, the authors argue that the earth's geographical separation into land and sea has significant consequences for capitalist development. The distinctive features of this mode of production continuously seek to transcend the land-sea binary in an incessant quest for profit, engendering new alignments of sovereignty, exploitation and appropriation in the capture and coding of maritime spaces and resources.




World Development Report 2019


Book Description

Work is constantly reshaped by technological progress. New ways of production are adopted, markets expand, and societies evolve. But some changes provoke more attention than others, in part due to the vast uncertainty involved in making predictions about the future. The 2019 World Development Report will study how the nature of work is changing as a result of advances in technology today. Technological progress disrupts existing systems. A new social contract is needed to smooth the transition and guard against rising inequality. Significant investments in human capital throughout a person’s lifecycle are vital to this effort. If workers are to stay competitive against machines they need to train or retool existing skills. A social protection system that includes a minimum basic level of protection for workers and citizens can complement new forms of employment. Improved private sector policies to encourage startup activity and competition can help countries compete in the digital age. Governments also need to ensure that firms pay their fair share of taxes, in part to fund this new social contract. The 2019 World Development Report presents an analysis of these issues based upon the available evidence.