One Belt‚ One Road : A Comparative Regionalism Approach

This chapter aims to contribute to development of a conceptual framework for the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative, relying on studies of comparative regionalism. First, the chapter identifies the risk of domination of the geopolitical approach over OBOR thinking and describes the need to overcome this limitation by broadening the conceptual tools used. Second, the relevance of regionalism studies for OBOR is underlined. Third, OBOR is conceptualized as a “functional region,” which could help emergence of new “regional identities” along the Belt and Road. The chapter concludes by highlighting the advantages of integrating comparative regionalism into studies of the OBOR initiative