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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Article
The Silk Road Imaginary in the Central Asia as an Emerging Geopolitical Discourse
Author(s)
Cavit Emre Aytekin, Elnur Hasan Mikail
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DOI:10.17265/1537-1506/2016.07.004
Affiliation(s)
Kafkas University, Kars, Turkey
ABSTRACT
This paper examines the use
of geopolitical imaginaries, historical narratives, and discourses in Central Asian politics which have
always been used in geopolitical agendas of both regional and external actors.
The main focus in this study is the Silk Road myth as a prominent case of those
geopolitical imaginaries. The Silk Road discourse presents a definite example
of mythmaking and geopolitical discourse in the Central Asia used by both
regional actors such as China, Russia and external actors such as the United
States. The main argument of this study is that each of those actors is
referring the historical myth of Silk Road as a useful tool for pursuing their
geopolitical vision and interests. So questioning this situation is important
in the eyes of critical geopolitics because the same historical fact is
constructed with different meanings and visions by different actors in
accordance with their competing interests. In this study, the critical
geopolitical theory and method are used to describe the emerging geopolitical
discourse in the Central Asia such as: rising powers narrative, peaceful rise concept, and
silk road imaginary.
KEYWORDS
the Silk Road, geopolitical discourse, critical geopolitics
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