The Belt And Road Initiative Of China And Its Opportunities And Challenges In The South Caucasus From A Perspective Of Azerbaijan

The Caucasus region – a transcontinental zone between Europe and Asia – has served as an arena for the competing interests of global and regional powers and has been hostage to the broader clash of rival empires.Centuries ago,these outside interests included the Byzantium,Persian,Russian and Ottoman Empires,sometimes various Arabic and Mongolian rulers.Since the late 19 th century,some other major western powers have been added: Great Britain,the USA,Germany,and France.And still there are new actors,such as Israel and China.Even more significantly,the South Caucasus continues to face a daunting combination of historical legacy and current conflict,posing fundamental threats to the future development of these three states of the South Caucasus.Geographic location of the Caucasus has given crucial importance to the region.In fact,one of the ancient routes of the Great Silk Road pass through the Caspian Sea and Caucasus.The historical Silk Road linking Central Asia to Europe through the South Caucasus Countries,have been a significant transportation corridor for centuries.As routes of integration,commerce,exchange and dialogue,the Silk Road contributed greatly to the common prosperity and development of humankind for almost two millennia.The idea of reviving historical land routes that connect Asia to Europe and realizing the benefits of expanded trade has drawn considerable interest in recent years.There have been many initiatives aimed at developing the Historic Silk Road,proposed by various countries,however Chinese “Belt and Road Initiative” is the only one that has been institutionalized.“B&R” plans to revive the Ancient Silk Road,which is the main route linking the Continents.The routes connects Europe,Africa and Asia,and passes through more than 65 countries with a population of about 4.4 billion and a third of the world economy.This initiative also allows South Caucasus to link with Asia and Europe both by land and by sea,making it much relaxed for South Caucasus to participate in Eurasian Matters,therefore enhancing the Caucasus capability to grab the opportunity of Eurasian progress.The Republic of Azerbaijan,as an important and a powerful country along the Historic Silk Road has a distinguished position with its national transport projects and its role in various regional transport projects,such as TRACECA,TITR,BTC,BTK,TANAP,TAP and lastly,“B&R” Initiative.These various initiatives are helping to consolidate the South Caucasus critical position in regional and global politics.In fact,“B&R” will help to boost China and Azerbaijan,and the rest of the world to promote regional cooperation and provided opportunities for foreign companies and organizations to be involved.This Thesis particularly analyzes the importance of “B&R” Initiative in relation to the role of Azerbaijan and the regional transport projects that could form the “B&R's” West Asia Corridor.The Master Thesis consists of three chapters.The first chapter is an introduction which provides a general overview of the region.This chapter also analyzes the regional importance of the South Caucasus and the influence level of external factors on the political and economic transformations in the region since independence.In the second chapter,the Chinese Economic power and historical background of two regions are discussed,by focusing on commercial and cultural relations between China and the South Caucasus and on possible further developmental benefits for countries in the South Caucasus.The third and the last chapter focuses specifically on the importance of B&R initiative and Azerbaijan's role in this project,by defining its-related activities and projects.In addition,the key regional transport projects,railroad corridors,efforts of Azerbaijan to become an Economic and Transport Hub,with a focus on routes that pass through the South Caucasus are explored.The conclusion underlines that “B&R” initiative is developing day by day,both through its own projects and via the implementation of regional projects.In fact,the “B&R” initiative is going to significantly alter the geopolitical landscape of Eurasia.This paper will argue that to fully obtain the benefits of the “B&R” initiative,the Azerbaijani foreign policy will need to play an active role and adapt to these changing geopolitical dynamics.This role will need to concentrate on deepening commercial and political ties the “B&R” member countries and China.