Abstract
Through the lens of world-systems analysis, this research argues that Beijing is creating a miniature world-system overlapping with the United States-led world-system via its Belt Road Initiative (BRI). Although China has not yet become a core power, its BRI seems to possess the qualities of a new world-system in the making, within which China enjoys hegemonic traits such as economic and military might and capable alternative institutions. This BRI-bound world-system consists of BRI participant states whose areas and processes are being molded to better fit China as core and hegemon; a phenomenon known as peripheralization. In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), the Maritime Silk Road Initiative (MSRI) appears to be peripheralizing Arab states into this BRI-bound world-system through China’s growing economic dominance of the region and promotion of new modi operandi. After arguing the emergence of the BRI-bound world-system and establishing China’s peripheralization capacity, Lebanon is taken as a case study of a peripheral MENA state to illustrate how predominant Western hegemony can hamper China’s peripheralization apparatus, forcing it to choose areas/processes of the highest immediate relevance for focused peripheralization efforts.
Highlights
Lebanon is a developing middle-income country known for its multilingual, skilled work force
To illustrate how China, through the Belt Road Initiative (BRI), is establishing a new world-system within the greater world-system, we focus on the Maritime Silk Road Initiative (MSRI) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region as it will be affecting the MENA region more than its land-based counterpart
After showing China’s capability in establishing this BRI-bound world-system, we find it has limitations in the case of Lebanon, as it remains a market-based hegemony
Summary
World-Systems Analysis Why world-systems analysis? Before surveying world-systems scholarship on the BRI and Chinese FDI in general, it is important to first indicate the shortcomings of international relations ( IR) theories in analyzing the BRI and thereafter argue the adequacy and, arguably, the primacy of this framework for the task. Blanchard and Flint (2017: 234) concur that “world-systems theorists frame the rise to hegemonic power through the ability to project economic advantage through trade and investment.” Adapting this to China’s position vis-a-vis the MENA region within the BRI-bound worldsystem, according to Wallerstein ([1983] 2011) there are three indicators of a core state achieving economic dominance over all others: 1. After providing evidence for China’s emergent hegemonic status within the MSRI through production dominance, creating new modi operandi, and progress on cultural hegemony, we examine how effectively the BRI-bound world-system can integrate external areas/processes into itself. We pivot to Lebanon as a case of Chinese influence being blocked
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