Beyond ‘Indo-Pacific’ as a buzzword: Learning from China’s BRI experience

ABSTRACT This exploratory article is interested in how transnational foreign policy ideas are shaped and institutionalised. One such idea that has re-emerged more prominently since the early 2000s is that of the ‘Indo-Pacific’ that covers the geoeconomic landscape of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The question is whether such a concept can exist beyond white papers and the current environment of US–China competition. In order to understand how transnational concepts become embedded and promoted, the example of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) – not only as the perceived anti-thesis to the Indo-Pacific but also as a relatively successful concept in Africa–China ties – will be examined. While there is no strict formula for the success of foreign policy ideas that go on to become institutionalised, it is of interest to understand the elements and contexts that bring about concept durability beyond their initial formation.