Digital Silk Road: Trends of Development and Strategic Issues

Student: Zhirukhina Ekaterina

Faculty: Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs

Educational Programme: Double degree programme in International Relations of the NRU HSE and the University of London (Bachelor)

Year of Graduation: 2021

This thesis focuses on the analysis of the Belt and Road Initiative's most recent connectivity dimension - the Digital Silk Road. It aims to evaluate the strategic issues and the trends of development that would arise from the continuation of this project. The first chapter of the paper elaborates on the theoretical aspect of the Belt and Road Initiative and the effects it has on the international system. The second chapter discusses the Belt and Road Initiative in greater detail, as it explores the conditions that motivated the formulation of such an Initiative and gives a preliminary assessment of its current realisation. The third chapter analyses the Digital Silk Road and evaluates the implications on the business and security dimensions for participant countries. The test hypothesis of this research is that the pursuit of the digital agenda through the Silk Road will result in substantive losses of digital sovereignty.

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