Abstract
The One Belt One Road Initiative (BRI), organized by China, is by far the most ambitious plan on earth for fostering economic collaborations. Within a few years of its announcement from President Xi Jinping, the number of countries in the initiative surpassed 100. Despite as an economic plan and without clear structures of an international organization such as the United Nations and World Trade Organization, the BRI exhibited some features of an international organization. The network and lock-in effect theories are often used to explain and analyze international organizations’ functioning and speculate their futures. The paper presents a case study regarding BRI projects related to energy transportation and infrastructure constructions in Central Asia to claim the presence and functioning of the Belt and Road Initiative’s network effects and lock-in effects in Central Asia. The paper utilized the concrete energy and infrastructural projects from the BRI scheme in Central Asia to qualitatively present how networks are created, network effects are generated, and lock-in effects are strengthened. The paper further claims that the combination of the strengthening network and lock-in effects would facilitate a self-reinforcing mechanism for BRI to increase its global influence in non-member states and urge its current members to stay in the organization more securely, resolutely, and unwaveringly.
Presenters
Shibo ZhaoStudent, Master of Arts (Candidate) in Social Sciences - Sociology Track, June/August 2025, University of Chicago, Georgia, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Belt and Road, Network Effect, Lock-in Effect, International Organizations, China
