Connectivity Competition: The EU’s Global Gateway Initiative

RIAC Working Paper No.84 / 2023

As the world order is undergoing a major transformation, key players in the international arena are reconsidering their foreign policy tools. Connectivity emerges as a new instrument of geopolitical competition, creating not only networks of railroads, digital and energy infrastructure, but also lasting recipient dependencies of respective investments from donors. The following working paper is looking at the European Union as a connectivity provider, assessing the potential of its Global Gateway Initiative in becoming a viable alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

RIAC Working Paper No.84 / 2023

As the world order is undergoing a major transformation, key players in the international arena are reconsidering their foreign policy tools. Connectivity emerges as a new instrument of geopolitical competition, creating not only networks of railroads, digital and energy infrastructure, but also lasting recipient dependencies of respective investments from donors. The following working paper is looking at the European Union as a connectivity provider, assessing the potential of its Global Gateway Initiative in becoming a viable alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

Connectivity Competition: The EU’s Global Gateway Initiative, 2.5 Mb