Twelfth Global Studies Conference

Abstract

The intensification of China’s geoeconomic activities in South Asia, on one hand, appears to alter the geoeconomic dynamics of the region and on the other hand, has ignited new debates and considerations amongst the policy and diplomatic circles, affecting the region’s geopolitical calculus. At one end of the spectrum of responses, China’s ambitious connectivity scheme is met by resistance from key regional players like India and at the other end, it has received clearance from the strategically important states like Pakistan as viewed in the case of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). This paper analyses the implications of the CPEC for India, Pakistan, and China at the crossroads of geoeconomics and geopolitics. These three countries are selected to evaluate their diverse positions on CPEC and the possible consequences of these positions. Their distinct settings and stances allow to focus on the different aspects of this connectivity scheme and to shed light on the intricacy of the phenomenon under discussion. The guiding theoretical framework of the paper is to evaluate two arguments related to geoeconomics through the case study of CPEC: Luttwak’s argument related to the strategic resistance of geoeconomics and Blackwill and Harris’ argument of geoeconomics as the positive-sum strategic tool. India’s denial to participate in CPEC provides the grounds to analyse its strategic resistance in accordance with Luttwak’s argument and Pakistan’s stance of going forward with CPEC allows for the evaluation of Blackwill and Harris’ argument of geoeconomics providing a win-win situation.