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The Belt and Road Initiative Is Opening up New Horizons.Pdf The Belt and Road Initiative is Opening up New Horizons semİh koray Prof. Dr. Department of Economics, Bilkent University Semih Koray received his Ph.D. in Mathematics from Boğaziçi University in 1980. He has several ar- ticles published in journals such as Social Choice and Welfare, Review of Economic Design, Journal of Economic Theory, Econometrica and Semigroup Forum. Koray acted as the coordinating editor-in-chief and an associate editor of Review of Economic Design, as the President and Secretary General of the Association of Southern European Economic Theorists, as the Chair of the Turkish Mathematical Ol- ympiad Committee, as a member of the International Mathematical Olympiad Advisory Board, and as the President of the Foundation for Economic Design. Koray’s research interests focus on economic and social design, game theory and social choice theory. Koray is currently the Deputy President of the Patriotic Party – Turkey in charge of the International Relations Bureau. He also has several articles on political and social issues published in the monthly periodicals Teori and Bilim ve Ütopya, along with writing in a weekly column on Eurasian Alternative in the daily newspaper Aydınlık. BRIq • Volume 1 Issue 1 Winter 2019-2020 The once “Oppressed Nations” are now in the process of constructing a developing alternative to the Atlantic System in all spheres of life. The economic struggle is led by the People’s Republic of China, while an armed struggle is continuing in West Asia with Syria, Turkey, Russia and Iran at the forefront, and all this is reflected politically in the increasing centrifugal forces against the Atlantic System in Europe as well. THE NEOLIBERAL INTERNATIONAL ORDER able ground for achieving this aim. The success of dictated to the world by the Atlantic System has this initiative in creating a new globe on which all come to an end. The world is now in search of a new countries, which the belt embraces and the road and more egalitarian international order based on connects, can interact in a cooperative and con- mutual benefit and respect for national sovereign- structive manner will mark a historical turning ty. The last three decades have not only witnessed point. In history, the 21st century might even be par- a shift of the center of weight of production from titioned into “before the Belt-Road” and “after the the West to the East, but also the rise of a Develop- Belt-Road”. The very design and implementation of ing World in Eurasia accompanied by struggles in such a historical project itself doubtlessly requires the economic as well as political and armed spheres. an intense interaction and cooperation between the The once “Oppressed Nations” are now in the pro- countries involved, perhaps even more intense than cess of constructing a developing alternative to the the interaction and cooperation it aims to create. Atlantic System in all spheres of life. The econom- The ancient continental as well as maritime Silk ic struggle is led by the People’s Republic of China, Road linking the East with the West was mainly an while an armed struggle is continuing in West Asia Asian project, as also is the modern Belt and Road with Syria, Turkey, Russia and Iran at the forefront, Initiative. The centralized and long-lasting feudal and all this is reflected politically in the increasing empires of the East furnished the then existing centrifugal forces against the Atlantic System in Eu- culture with elements reflecting a public and shar- rope as well. ing spirit within their own historical context. They brought about a dignified stance among the people The Nation-States are the in the territories they reigned. The silk routes en- Main Building Blocks of hanced both economic and cultural welfare through the Developing World the interaction and cooperation they induced. All The construction of an alternative system repre- this doubtlessly belongs to the common legacy of senting the common future of humanity requires human civilization today. Turning this valuable leg- a thoughtful design of international relations, acy into a current social and economic power, which through which each country can efficiently benefit opens up the way to the construction of a common from international cooperation. The Belt and Road future of humanity, can only be achieved through Initiative first put forth by China in 2013 and now the “nation-states”, which form the main building underway with its implementation provides a suit- blocks of the Developing World in our era. 18 Semih Koray, The Belt and Road Initiative is Opening up New Horizons impose upon the strategic goals. In the last analysis, "The new kind of globalization aims however, it is the market forces that are to be made at globalizing cooperation, and not to create a single global market in the subject to the strategic development goals rather absence of national borders." than leaving the formation of a development strate- gy to the spontaneity of the market forces. The Developed World of the Atlantic System Economic growth is just one quantitative as- is much more monolithic than is the Developing pect of economic development. Two countries World of Eurasia. The Eurasian countries span over may have similar growth rates with quite different a very broad spectrum concerning both the levels impacts upon their productive powers. It is the and contents of their nation-building as well as eco- qualitative content of growth reflected in produc- nomic development processes. Thus, the priorities tive power, which matters in the medium and long these countries are faced with are strongly diversi- run. A sustainable economic development involves fied. In fact, this is the main reason of the lack of a continual adjustment and readjustment process a ready-made, one-size-fits-all recipe for economic between the production forces and the relations of production. Thus, an optimal route of development development and social progress in these countries. has to be designed, planned and endowed with suit- That is precisely why each country is to find “its able economic means of implementation. This aim own way” fitting its “own characteristics” for devel- cannot be achieved on an economic stage, which is opment and progress strategies. The key to the suc- turned into a playground of market forces. cess of the Belt and Road Initiative is the ability to Optimal routes of development of different harmonize the priorities and strategies of different countries are to be diversified. For example, the countries, thereby rendering the economic and so- adoption of an advanced technology in some in- cial consequences of the Initiative widely acceptable dustry requires having reached a threshold level in to the societies in those countries. manufacturing in that area. Full openness to mar- ket forces is destined to keep a country in a passive “Inclusiveness” Requires a New recipient’s position in sectors below that threshold Kind of “Openness” level. Interaction, no matter how strong, cannot au- Markets are myopic in the sense that they can only tomatically lead to the internalization of advanced technologies in such sectors. In industries and ag- internalize short-term interests of the parties in- ricultural sectors that are regarded to possess a volved. Development strategies, however, are to strategic importance for either national security or be farsighted. Thus, their implementation cannot economic and social development, the formation be left entirely to the workings of the market. On of special protection, incentive design and support the other hand, the current level of the production policies will be needed. forces renders the usage of markets indispensable. Under the “globalization” model dictated to Hence, the gist of economic development lies in the world by the Atlantic System, “openness” was aligning the workings of the markets with strategic to be provided to the flow of capital and goods un- targets. The need to ensure the sustainability of de- der the sheer domination of market forces. As the velopment, nevertheless, makes it necessary to also nation-states of the Developing World were consid- take into account the limitations the market forces ered to be the main obstacles to such a “free flow”, 19 BRIq • Volume 1 Issue 1 Winter 2019-2020 the whole effort was focused on the liquidation of tion. Thus, the way it circulates should accord with the nation-states in order to open up the way to a smooth and qualitatively well-balanced growth in “free circulation” of capital and goods. production. In case finance starts to dominate and “Openness” is one of the most crucial notions shape production, however, it becomes a parasitic that has to be “redefined” for the success of the Belt activity not promoting production, but forming an and Road Initiative. To strengthen interaction and obstacle to improving production. cooperation, countries should, of course, be “open” One of the major reasons why the center of to cooperation. Under the Belt and Road Initiative, production shifted from the West to the East within to the contrary of the Atlantic approach, “openness” the last three decades was, in fact, that the domina- is to be brought about by “voluntary participation” tion of finance capital - as the main source of prof- based on “mutual gain”. Being “openminded” rather its under the capitalist system - over production of than promoting “openness” will naturally help “open goods and services became stronger than ever in the up” the way to more interaction and cooperation. West, while finance was treated just as the lifeblood However, it is not just the wishes, but the means that of production in the East. In the West, the shaping bring about the consequences. Thus, the success of of the relationship between finance and production the Belt and Road Initiative strongly depends upon was entirely left to market forces, while in the East the introduction of effective means to align open- the state authority entered the scene as a strategic ness with the development strategies of the coun- planner along with designing the means needed to tries involved, thereby increasing their willingness implement the plans.
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