The Rise of New Eurasianism: China’s “Belt and Road” Initiative and Its Implications for Euro-Atlanticism

Abstract

This article attempts to cast an analytic light on China’s “One Belt and One Road” (OBOR) initiative and investigates the prospects for a new China-led Eurasian integration discourse as an alternative to the U.S.-led Euro-Atlanticism. To this end, it compares China’s development-oriented strategy in Europe with the security-driven Atlanticist model and examines how the new governance framework relates to present-day international relations. It holds that the Eurasia-centered OBOR signifies a paradigm that is fundamentally different from the Atlanticist strategy that has come to define the European geopolitical landscape since the end of World War II. The OBOR aims to de-emphasize security arrangements and ensure sustainable development and prosperity by introducing an omnidirectional connectivity and cooperation agenda in the Eurasian strategic context. It is recognized, however, that although the new Eurasian discourse of inclusive development does not aim to directly challenge the United States’ highly-institutionalized security presence in Europe, mindful of its larger paradigmatic implications, the United States is likely to view the OBOR unfavorably and seek to reinforce material and ideational fundamentals of the Atlantic alliance.