Unlocking Eurasian Gateways? China's Belt and Road Initiative and its Implications for U.S. Grand Strategy

About

Speaker: Thomas Cavanna, Visiting Assistant Professor of Strategic Studies, The Fletcher School, Tufts University

Since its launch by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has become the symbol of China's rising foreign policy ambitions. Yet most studies on the subject remain descriptive in nature or limited in scope, exploring specific themes, regions, or projects. This seminar aims to fill this gap by providing a comprehensive analysis of the Belt and Road Initiative, its multiple dimensions, its prospects of success, and its potential implications for U.S. grand strategy.

Despite its many ambiguities and limitations, the BRI constitutes a coherent across-the-board geopolitical offensive that could threaten the very tenets of America's post-WWII hegemony in the long haul. First, Beijing's enterprise is designed to hollow out U.S. military primacy and alliance network, especially by leveraging unique geoeconomic assets. Second, its naval expansion and overland projects generate inter-regional synergies that span the entire Eurasian continent, thereby circumventing Washington's focus on maritime East Asia. Third, Beijing deftly exploits the cracks created by America's post–Cold War strategic overreach.

Please join us! Coffee and tea provided. Everyone is welcome, but admittance will be on a first come–first served basis.

Contact

For more information, email the International Security Program Assistant at susan_lynch@harvard.edu.