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- Convenor:
-
Jasmin Dall'Agnola
(The George Washington University)
Send message to Convenor
- Chair:
-
Edward Schatz
(University of Toronto)
- Discussant:
-
Erica Marat
(National Defense University)
- Formats:
- Panel
- Theme:
- Political Science & International Relations
- Sessions:
- Sunday 17 October, -
Time zone: America/New_York
Long Abstract:
Since Xi Jinping visited Kazakhstan in 2013 to unveil the “One Belt, One Road” strategy, China has spent nearly USD 1 trillion in development assistance and infrastructure financing in more than 60 countries. This massive and multi-faceted project—since renamed the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)—has set in motion social, economic, and political transformations with the potential to reshape the globe. While there has been no shortage of analysis about the project’s origins and initial trajectories, the main aim of papers within this panel organized by the “Belt and Road in Global Perspective project” (https://munkschool.utoronto.ca/beltandroad/), is to generate a conversation about the BRI’s downstream effects. The articles view the BRI as a potential engine of transformations that are varied and difficult to predict; they set our sights on what occurs downstream, i.e., not in the minds of policymakers and project planners but on the ground in specific contexts. Based on the authors’ geographical expertise and disciplinary perspectives the papers explore questions such as how do we might best conceptualize the BRI and its emergent effects in Central Asian?
In analyzing how Chinese foreign direct investments (FDIs) influences Kyrgyzstani workers’ well-being, Pengshan Pan explores the BRI’s downstream effects on Kyrgyzstan’s labor market. He finds that Beijing’s growing FDIs in the state’s local infrastructure do not necessarily serve local laborer’s interests.
Linda Tjia Yin-nor in her article looks at Sino-Kazakh joint ventures and the way in which they have evolved from infrastructure and pipeline enterprises to sustainable energy and food processing projects.
In contrast to the other papers, that focus on the BRI’s downstream effects, Jasmin Dall’Agnola examines how the Covid-19 pandemic has fueled the spread of Chinese CCTV cameras across Central Asia, in investigating the wider public’s support for smart cameras in public places. In doing so, her paper discusses what the BRI has come to mean in the context of Central Asian people’s privacy and security.
KEY WORDS: BRI; Central Asia ; FDIs; CCTV
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Sunday 17 October, 2021, -Jasmin Dall'Agnola (The George Washington University)
Paper long abstract:
The fight against Covid-19 has further accelerated China’s testing and development of pre-existing smart city cameras. Already prior to the pandemic, Chinese tech companies such as Huawei, Dahua and DJI were known for promoting and selling their high-resolution cameras under the banner of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to Central Asia. Chinese CCTV cameras, therefore, form an integral element of local regimes’ response to Covid-19. Whereas face masks might disappear, the fear among security scholars is that Chinese smart cameras with facial recognition are not only here to stay, but even set to expand and become part of everyday law enforcement and governmental practices in post-pandemic Central Asia.
There is no research so far assessing the extent to which the current pandemic is fueling the spread of Chinese smart cameras across Central Asia nor any studies into the wider Central Asian public’s attitudes towards CCTV cameras in public places. My study is designed to address these voids for Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Methodologically, the study will be carried out through the combined use of the WVS 7 survey data, as well as an analysis of government and local news reports on smart cameras. In investigating whether Central Asian people’s confidence in the police, fear of crime or security concerns – the independent variables – affect their support for CCTV cameras in public spaces – the dependent variable – my paper seeks to illustrate what the normalization of mass surveillance promoted by the BRI’s has come to mean for individual’s privacy and security.
Linda Yinnor Tjia (City University of Hong Kong)
Paper long abstract:
China announced the high-profile Belt and Road Initiative in 2013, emphasizing the importance of connectivity across the Eurasian landmass. Surprisingly, the non-connectivity cooperation between China and Kazakhstan has, since then, increased far more than that related to connectivity such as resource extraction, pipeline construction and transport infrastructure. To this extent, this paper probes on how the Kazakh state and elites leverage the highly contingent and loosely defined Chinese dream and capital by diversifying investments towards non-resource and non-connectivity related sectors. Based on desktop and fieldwork investigation of China’s joint projects in Kazakhstan in the past 30 years, this paper illuminates that despite the asymmetric power relation, Kazakhstan has sought for Chinese support towards renewable energy, manufacturing and food processing. The structure of Kazakhstan’s export to China has shifted to include more intermediate and consumer goods. Interestingly, China’s determination to connect to the West has given the Kazakh government more leverage in demanding the non-connectivity projects. China’s presence has also fostered a mixed Sinophobic resistance and Sinophilic drive to shape the nuanced evolvement of the newly incorporated Sino-Kazakh joint projects.
Pengshan Pan (New Uzbekistan University)
Paper long abstract:
Despite massive foreign direct investment (FDI) around the world, there is much we do not know about the consequences of such investment on the political economy of the host country and consequences for domestic politics. Previous research suggests that FDI improves local development by promoting economic growth. However, it has been argued that these investments also have a positive effect on workers' welfare and ultimately domestic politics. This paper explores this issue, by analyzing Chinese FDI in Kyrgyzstan, which constitutes a significant part of this small country's economy. Investment in Kyrgyzstan is concentrated in mining and infrastructure construction. Using geolocated data from household panel surveys and listed firms in Kyrgyzstan, I investigate the impact of foreign infrastructure and natural resource investment on (1) worker well-being and (2) ultimately domestic politics. By comparing state-owned and foreign firms, Chinese and Western foreign firms, this paper demonstrates that FDI provides higher wages and better insurance coverage but does not necessarily benefit local workers because of in-immigrant competition, health issues, labor strikes, and inequality. Investment from Chinese firms face more strikes, environmental, and foreign labor issues.