{"title":"Framing the Digital Silk Road's (De)Securitisation","authors":"Christiane Heidbrink, C. Becker","doi":"10.1177/18681026221117567","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"China’s Digital Belt and Road (DBAR) is sending the offer of a technological upgrade around the world. Foreign perceptions of the DBAR pave the way to success through a cooperative attitude or to failure through resistance and confrontation. The United States of America (USA), in particular, plays a prominent role. The power rivalry between Washington and Beijing also affects foreign initiatives such as the DBAR. However, it remains underresearched, how the DBAR is perceived in the USA. The article fills this gap by analysing documents issued by US state bodies as well as three non-partisan think tanks between 2016 and mid-2021. Since no previous study has examined both securitised and desecuritised DBAR frames, we present a new research framework. The results show that negative perceptions of the DBAR prevail among think tanks and political elites. This suggests hardened fronts in the heated technological competition due to confrontational attitudes.","PeriodicalId":37907,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Current Chinese Affairs","volume":"76 1","pages":"311 - 333"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2022-08-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Current Chinese Affairs","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/18681026221117567","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"Social Sciences","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
China’s Digital Belt and Road (DBAR) is sending the offer of a technological upgrade around the world. Foreign perceptions of the DBAR pave the way to success through a cooperative attitude or to failure through resistance and confrontation. The United States of America (USA), in particular, plays a prominent role. The power rivalry between Washington and Beijing also affects foreign initiatives such as the DBAR. However, it remains underresearched, how the DBAR is perceived in the USA. The article fills this gap by analysing documents issued by US state bodies as well as three non-partisan think tanks between 2016 and mid-2021. Since no previous study has examined both securitised and desecuritised DBAR frames, we present a new research framework. The results show that negative perceptions of the DBAR prevail among think tanks and political elites. This suggests hardened fronts in the heated technological competition due to confrontational attitudes.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Current Chinese Affairs is an internationally refereed academic journal published by the GIGA Institute of Asian Studies, Hamburg. The journal focuses on current developments in Greater China. It is simultaneously published (three times per year) online as an Open Access journal and as a printed version with a circulation of 1,000 copies, making it one of the world’s most widely read periodicals on Asian affairs. The Journal of Current Chinese Affairs, unlike some other Open Access publications, does not charge its authors any fee. The Journal of Current Chinese Affairs reaches a broad international readership in academia, administration and business circles. It is devoted to the transfer of scholarly insights to a wide audience. The journal is committed to publishing high-quality, original research on current issues in China in a format and style that is accessible across disciplines and to professionals with an interest in the region. The editors welcome contributions on current affairs within Greater China, including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. Submissions can focus on emerging topics and current developments as well as on future-oriented debates in the fields of China''s global and regional roles; political, economic and social developments including foreign affairs, business, finance, cultural industries, religion, education, science and technology; and so on.