David M. Lampton

Selina Ho

Cheng-Chwee Kuik

In 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping unveiled what would come to be known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)—a global development strategy involving infrastructure projects and associated financing throughout the world, including Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas. While the Chinese government has framed the plan as one promoting transnational connectivity, critics and security experts see it as part of a larger strategy to achieve global dominance. Rivers of Iron examines one aspect of President Xi Jinping’s “New Era”: China’s effort to create an intercountry railway system connecting China and its seven Southeast Asian neighbors (Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam). This book illuminates the political strengths and weaknesses of the plan, as well as the capacity of the impacted countries to resist, shape, and even take advantage of China’s wide-reaching actions. Using frameworks from the fields of international relations and comparative politics, the authors of Rivers of Iron seek to explain how domestic politics in these eight Asian nations shaped their varying external responses and behaviors. How does China wield power using infrastructure? Do smaller states have agency? How should we understand the role of infrastructure in broader development? Does industrial policy work? And crucially, how should competing global powers respond?

Railroads and Chinese Power in Southeast Asia

Rivers of Iron

"Rivers of Iron tells the story of China's unfolding role in realizing the region-wide dream of building an intercountry railway system connecting Southwest China and its seven Southeast Asian neighbors. This system is gradually taking shape with construction of Chinese-backed projects underway in several Southeast Asian countries. Progress is being made. Nonetheless, while the PRC is strong, it is not a goliath bestriding the world, even in this region where China looms over its small and medium-sized neighbors. This book illuminates the strengths and weaknesses of China's demonstration of power during President Xi Jinping's self-styled "New Era" as well as the capacity of its smaller neighbors to resist, shape, and at times even take advantage of China's actions. Utilizing frameworks from the fields of international relations and comparative politics, this book seeks to explain how domestic politics in all eight of the involved nations affects their external behavior. Finally, Rivers of Iron addresses a fundamental development issue in what is emerging globally as a new age of infrastructure--How should we understand the role of infrastructure in development, and how do policy makers and analysts balance the long-term value and prospective gains of investments with the sometimes huge short- and medium-term costs?"--

Cheng-Chwee Kuik

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