Highway to the ‘Danger Zone’? Geopolitics and the Distribution of Risk in China’s Belt and Road Initiative

Highway to the ‘Danger Zone’? Geopolitics and the Distribution of Risk in China’s Belt and Road Initiative
Thursday, 26th November 2020 @ 10:00 GMT

Join us for our first webinar, we are excited to have you. The webinar will be presented by Prof. Padraig Carmody.

Description of the webinar:  The global system is in a period of profound geopolitical disruption and transition. Conjunctural events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with more structural ones, such as the rise of China and looming climate disruption are changing economies and distributions of power around the world. According to some analysts (e.g. Andersson, 2019), we have entered a period of spatial retraction from overseas engagement and commitments by the Western powers – a ‘No Go’ world, accompanied by securitization. On the other hand, China’s rise in the international system continues and is marked by deepening engagement with all world regions, including those designated as ‘fragile’ or ‘failed states’ by Western-dominated institutions, and governments. This paper explores the geopolitical imperatives and dynamics of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), announced in 2013, to explore the nature of the contradictions generated by this form of international interconnection and the types and distribution of risks presented by it. It finds that, while there are risks for China, the balance of these are skewed against borrowers.
About the speakers:
Prof. Padraig Carmody is a Professor of Geography at Trinity College, University of Dublin and a Senior Research Associate at University of Johannesburg. At Trinity College, he directs the Master’s in Development Practice program. His research centers on the political economy of globalization in Africa and has published extensively in referred journals such as European Journal of Development Research, Review of African Political Economy, Economic Geography and World Development. He has also published nine books, including The New Scramble for Africa (2016), and the Rise of the BRICS in Africa (2013). Prof. Carmody is a board member of reputable journals including Political Geography, Economies, and Geoforum where he was formerly editor-in-chief. He is currently an associate editor of Transnational Corporations, a Fellow of Trinity College and was elected to the Royal Irish Academy and the Royal Academy for Overseas Sciences in 2018. He is also the chair of Development Studies Association of Ireland and co-Chair of the Global Association of Masters in Development Practice and sits on the Academic Advisory Committee of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

To join this webinar click on this link. https://us02web.zoom.us/s/81038123055?pwd=MWsvL1kxNU5mR2x5N3Y3QkhmcHFHdz09