China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a cornucopia of international projects that offer mammoth opportunities for more economic cooperation and deeper regional integration primarily among emerging economies. BRI is providing new drivers of sustainable economic growth in China and of cross-border trade, along with the reimagined land and “Maritime Silk Road”. The initiative focuses on restoring global balance and on expanding universally beneficial and inclusive relationships. This article argues that the forces of globalization are so pivotal to Eurasia, where development opportunities can propel the region toward a more comprehensive socioeconomic integration, that governments in that region need to provide more support that ensures the continuing success of BRI. In essence, BRI is a critical tool for peaceful development that is resulting in massive investments in infrastructure, that is facilitating economic development, and that is promoting shared governance. This article provides theoretical perspectives on BRI as a beachhead for sustainable regional development. It also highlights BRI programs and projects that have emerged as an internal and external policy framework for an openly inclusive “win–win” cooperation model based on shared development and on communities of shared interests.

Globalization is facing a major test of sustainability with growing populism and trade protectionism. West, which always endorsed for globalization has left their hands back. ‘America First’ and ‘Brexit’ has changed and challenged the original concept of globalization. China which always remained isolated from globalizations, has started to talk about globalization with its Chinese characteristics - called ‘Shared Globalization’. This study investigates that what kind of characteristics China has applied to get momentum for shared globalization. It is a descriptive study which has taken “One Belt, One Road” (BRI) as case study with the theoretical observation of shared development, shared future, and peaceful coexistence. The study has found that the new trends of shared globalization are emerging in Asia. It has created new opportunities for joint economic cooperation and deeper regional ntegration. The BRI policy framework is providing new drivers to the sustainable economic growth to the BRI counties and would work as a common cause for the world to restore the correct balance of globalization by making it more universally beneficial and inclusive. This study claims that shared globalization is pivotal to Eurasia with the shared attitude of new opportunities that could untangle the regions towards deeper socio-economic integration of shared development toward the community of common destiny.

Imran Ali Sandano. KJIS 2024;22:1-25. https://doi.org/10.14731/kjis.2024.04.22.1.1

In the last two decades, Turkey has remarkably transformed its foreign policy towards the Middle East. Ankara with a neo-Ottoman and anti-Western approach has become more evident in the foreign policy practices of Justice and Development Party (known as AKP) government. This article identifies the religious geopolitical imagination of Turkey with civilizationalist and neo-Ottoman visions that have shaped its foreign policy goals and instruments during the AKP government era. The article argues that religious geopolitical imagination is a result of foreign policy change towards the Middle East, which may give a Turkey leading position in the region. Overall, however, the evolution of religious geopolitical imagination can be accounted for not only by foreign policy concerns, but economic interests and domestic political aims also matter. Turkey has applied both hard and soft power approaches to remain in the region, but more focused and balanced soft power capabilities. This rapid change may be the result of internal problems like soaring inflation, plummeting currency, and a decline in popularity of the AKP. This article will give more focus to contemporary developments in Turkish foreign policy towards the Middle East region.