Abstract
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is one of the most ambitious global investment ventures in modern times, with the stated ambition to generate inclusive development processes through improved connectivity. Recent literature increasingly interprets the BRI as uneven, complex and dynamic, and there is growing focus on its environmental consequences. However, especially given the official narrative of inclusive development, surprisingly little attention has so far been paid to the livelihood politics produced where the BRI is implemented. This short paper critically reviews recent BRI literature on southern and eastern Asia. The main argument is that the current focus on economic and political dimensions of the BRI at national and international scales has left out an understanding of local issues. In conversation with recent calls for more grounded political understandings of the BRI, as well as attentiveness to its environmental consequences, we conclude by outlining some of the benefits of adding detailed livelihood analyses to the existing body of research on the BRI.
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