Abstract
The Middle East has vital and strategic importance for the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as a key hub connecting the land and sea routes of Asia, Africa, and Europe. The strengthening of relations with the Middle East countries was facilitated by factors such as the absence of China’s colonial past, the skilful application of “soft power” policy, and the principle of “non-intervention” (or minimal intervention), the attractiveness and efficiency of the Chinese development model. Beijing’s influence in the Middle East can be enlarged, especially through the implementation of the geopolitical and geo-economic strategy of the BRI. This chapter discusses the transformations of regional order through a specific focus on the new challenges of state failure and its spillover impacts, the changing geopolitical landscape, and consolidated divergences in the Arab revolution.
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Harutyunyan, L. (2022). A Challenging Nation-State in the Middle East in Transition. In: Rajaoson, J., Edimo, R.M.M. (eds) New Nationalisms and China's Belt and Road Initiative. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08526-0_5
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