Kinas väg till dominans? : En fallstudie om Belt and Road Initiative som utrikespolitisk strategi

• Main Author: Kässlin, Tony
• Format: Others
• Language: Swedish
• Published: Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för statsvetenskap (ST) 2021
• Subjects: China; soft power; hard power; belt and road initiative; foreign policy; Social Sciences; Samhällsvetenskap
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-104329

The purpose of this essay is to explore China's foreign policy through Joseph S. Nye's theory of power applied on the Belt and Road Initiative. It aims to answer whether or not China's foreign policy has changed during Xi Jinping's presidency and in what way Belt and Road Initiative can be explained in terms of power behaviour and power resources. The method used in this essay is that of a case study. The empirical evidence shows that China's foreign policy has changed in a direction that is meant to strengthen Xi Jinping's influence and that Belt and Road Initiative is a project with the intention to accumulate economic resources. It also shows that China's government and domestic policies weakens its "soft power" resources due to restraints in its civil society.  The essayc concludes that the Belt and Road Initiative is China and Xi Jinping's expansion strategy whose main objective is to create incentives for Chinese domestic, economic growth. It also concludes that Chinese "soft power" would increase if the domestic policies would aim for a more democratic course.