Examining the Political and Economic Dynamics of the Belt and Road Initiative: Impact on Voting Behavior within the United Nations
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2024-07-11
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en
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This is one of the first studies that explores the impact of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) on voting behavior in the UN General Assembly between 2000 and 2022. This study is motivated by the academic debate regarding the BRI’s geopolitical- and economic goals. There are claims within the literature that China is ensnaring smaller countries with high levels of debt to realize neocolonial goals. This study wants to test whether China influences the voting behavior of BRI recipient countries in the UN. Using an advanced quasi-experimental research design, this study finds that BRI members do not vote more in line with China over time compared to non-members. Furthermore, findings show that BRI countries vote more in line with the US over time. NATO membership seems to have a small negative effect on voting behavior with China and a positive effect on voting behavior with the US. Overall, it appears that China has not gained significant political influence through the Belt and Road Initiative.
Key words: Belt and Road Initiative, voting alignment, China, United Nations, geopolitical influence, complex interdependence theory
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen