ÇİN-PAKİSTAN EKONOMİ KORİDORU VE PAKİSTAN TWITTER UZAMINDA KANAAT TEKNİSYENLERİ: BİR TEMATİK İÇERİK ANALİZİ

Çin-Pakistan Ekonomik Koridoru (CPEC), günümüzde Güney Asya’da Çin’in Orta Doğu’daki petrol ticareti hattını kısaltan en önemli rota kabul edilen bir ticaret yolu olarak Pakistan’ın Belucistan eyaletindeki Gwadar limanını Çin’in Kaşgar bölgesini birbirine bağlamaktadır. Bu ticaret yolu, Çin’in alternatif küreselleşme projesi olan ve katılımcı ülkelerdeki ticari ve kültürel etkileşim yollarını kapsayan Kuşak ve Yol Girişimi (KYG) temel bileşenlerinden birini oluşturmaktadır. KYG, esas olarak katılımcı ülkelerin devlet kurumları dolayımındaki siyasi ilişkileri içermesine rağmen bu ülkelerin Çin'le olan kültürel, siyasi ve ekonomik ilişkilerinin tarihsel arkaplanı söz konusu ülkelerin KYG’ye katılım biçimlerini etkilemekte ve o ülkelerdeki kamusal tartışmasını şekillendirmektedir. Pakistan da tıpkı KYG’nin diğer katılımcı ülkeleri gibi kendi bölgesel ve ekonomik çıkarlarını güvence altına almak için KYG’ye ve Çin’le olan ilişkilerine ciddi bir önem atfetmektedir. Çin’in de benzer bir şekilde KYG’nin daha fazla katılımcı ülkeye yönelik zemin oluşturması adına kamu ve kültürel diplomasi stratejilerini geliştirdi. Bu çalışma, Çin'in İkinci Kuşak ve Yol Forumu’nun (2019) hemen öncesinden hemen sonrasına kadarki süreçte, Pakistan'daki 'kanaat teknisyenlerinin' Twitter’da ürettikleri içeriklere tematik içerik analizi uygulamıştır. Pierre Bourdieu’ya göre, hızlı düşünürler olarak tanımlanabilen TV yorumcuları, akademisyenler, siyasi figürler ya da kurumlar gibi söylem üreten kamusal figürler, toplumdaki güncel siyasal tartışmalara yönelik toplumdaki hakim söylemi yeniden üreterek kanaat üreten kanaat teknisyenleri olmuştur. Çalışmanın temel bulgusu, Pakistan’daki kanaat teknisyenlerinin KYG’ye dair çoklu temaya sahip bir söylem ürettiğini ve CPEC’i Pakistan'da halihazırda ekonomik ve endüstriyel dönüşüme başlayan ve aynı zamanda yoksulluğun azaltılması gibi potansiyel faydaları gösteren bir dönüm proje olarak, yabancı yatırımlar ve yakın gelecekte kazan-kazan iş birliğini örneklemek için Çin pazarlarına genişletilmiş erişim gibi temalar etrafından tanımladığıdır.

CHINA-PAKISTAN ECONOMIC CORRIDOR AND TECHNICIANS OF OPINION IN PAKISTANI TWITTERSPHERE: A THEMATIC CONTENT ANALYSIS

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is most crucial trade route in contemporary South Asia which connects Pakistan’s Gwadar port located in Balochistan province and China’s Kashgar, shortening the Middle Eastern oil route for China. It happens to be a core project of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) which embodies Chinese alternative globalization and encompasses commercial and cultural routes and infrastructure in the participating countries. Although the BRI mainly involves the state institutions of the participating nations, the historic nature of cultural, political and economic relationships of these countries with China affect the political engagement and shape the public discussion about the BRI and its regional projects including the CPEC. Just like each participating country, Pakistan also attaches discrete significance to BRI and puts extraordinary emphasis to secure its respective regional and economic interests, while China has also boosted its public and cultural diplomacy to make ground for its successful execution. This study has undertaken a thematic analysis of the contents produced by ‘opinion technicians’ on Twitter from Pakistan during and immediately after China’s Second Belt Road Forum (2019) as Pierre Bourdieu asserts that officials, opinion leaders, and leading institutions qualify to become the opinion technicians and shape dominant public opinion by the application of framing and priming in the light of local politics and agendas. The study found that the technicians of opinion are effectively adopting the multi-thematic discourse, and portray the CPEC as landmark project which has already started economic and industrial transformation in Pakistan and also holds potential benefits such as poverty alleviation, foreign investments and extended access to Chinese markets to exemplify the win-win cooperation in near future.

___

  • Ali, Ghulam. China and Pakistan prepare to Establish Economic Corridor. 2015. May 2020. .
  • Bernstein, Carl. "How CIA Provides Arms for Afghan Rebels." Manchester Guardian Weekly 9 August 1981: 7.
  • Cao, Jia Ning. Chinese 'debt traps' non-existent, says Foreign Ministry spokesperson. October 2018. May 2020. .
  • Chaudhuri, Rudhura. "The Making of an ‘All Weather Friendship’ Pakistan, China and the History of a Border Agreement: 1949–1963." The International History Review (2017): 1-24.
  • Curtis, Lisa. "China’s military and security relationship with Pakistan." Testimony before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission on May 20, 2009. The Heritage Foundation, 2009.
  • Droit, R. P. and Ferenczi, T. (2008). The left hand and the right hand of the state, Variant, http://www.variant.org.uk/32texts/bourdieu32.html, 26 April 2011.
  • Dwivedi, Sangit Sarita. "Exploring Strategies and Implications of an Opportunistic Alliance: A Case Study of Pakistan and China." Asian Journal of Political Science 21.3 (2013): 306-327.
  • Economy, Elizabeth, (2018). The Third Revolution:Xi JinPing and te New Chinese State. Oxford University Press, London. Garver, John W. "China’s Kashmir Policies." India Review 3 (2004): 1-24.
  • Rafiq, Arif. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor: Three Years Later. 12 February 2018. May 2020. .
  • Frederick, Starr. New silk roads: transit and trade in greater central Asia. Washington DC: Central Asia-Caucasus Institute and Silk Road Studies Program at SAIS Johns Hopkins University, 2007.
  • Hali, S. M. "Regional and Global Scenarios of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor." Khan, Minhas Majeed, et al. China-Pakistan Economic Corridor: A Game Changer. Islamabad: The Institute of Strategic Studies , 2016. 34-61.
  • Irfan, Muhammad, et al. "Solar Energy Development in Pakistan: Barriers and Policy Recommendations." Sustainability (2019).
  • Irshad, M.S. "One belt and one road: Dose China-Pakistan Economic Corridor benefit for Pakistan’s economy? ." J. Econ. Sustain. Dev. (2015): 200–207.
  • Ishaque, Waseem, Aman Ullah and Ijaz Khalid. "Chinese Dream and Prospect of Harmonious World Policy: Drawing Lessons for Pakistan." Global Political Review 3.2 (2018): 40-51.
  • Khan, Muhammad Ijlal. Positive Impacts of CPEC on Pakistan’s Economy. 15 February 2017. May 2020. .
  • Krippendorff, Klaus. (1980). Content Analysis: An Introduction to Its Methodology. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications.
  • Mannan, Abdul. PM to Sign 27 Energy, Development related MOUs, Agreements during China Visit. 7 November 2014. May 2020. .
  • McCay-Peet, Lori and Anabel Quan-Haase. "A Model of Social Media Engagement: User Profiles, Gratifications, and Experiences." H., O'Brien and Cairns P. Why Engagement Matters. Cham: Springer, 2016. 199-217.
  • Miller, Tom. (2017). Chinas Asian Dream: Empire Building along the New Silk Road. Zed Books, London.
  • Nasim, Haider. Pak-China Fibre Optic Link Activated for Commercial Use. 2 February 2019. May 2020. .
  • Paul, Thazla. V. "Chinese-Pakistani Nuclear/Missile Ties and the Balance of Power." The Non-proliferation Review (2003): 1-9.
  • Paul, Thazha V. "Chinese-Pakistani nuclear/missile ties and balance of power politics." The Non-proliferation Review 10.2 (2003b): 21-29.
  • Ramachandran, Sudha. CPEC takes a step forward as violence surges in Balochistan. 19 November 2016. May 2020. . Roy, Meena Singh. "Where is the China-Pakistan Relationship Heading- Strategic Partnership or Conditional Engagement?" Asia Policy 21 (2016): 160.
  • Shah, S. China’s Xi Jinping Launches Investment Deal in Pakistan. 2015. May 2020. < https://www.wsj. com/articles/chinas-xi-jinping-set-to-launch-investment-deal-in-pakistan-1429533767 >.
  • Shah, Z. "China-Pakistan economic corridor and its importance." The monthly diplomatic insight 91.10 (2015).
  • Shahid, Jamal. Army Seeks Fibre Optic Cables along CPEC. 25 January 2017. May 2020. . Small, A. The China Pakistan Axis: Asia’s new geopolitics. New Delhi: Random House, 2015.
  • Barber, C.E. The Pakistan-China Corridor. 2014. May 2020. . Steele, Liza and Raymond Kuo. "Terrorism in Xinjiang?" Ethno Politics (2007): 1-1.
  • Wang, Zheng. "The Chinese Dream: Concept and context." Journal of Chinese Political Science 19.1 (2014): 1–13.
  • Xing, Li. "Interpreting and Understanding “The Chinese Dream” in a Holistic Nexus." Fudan Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences 8 (2015): 505–520.
  • Xing, Li. (2019). “China’s Pursuit of the “One Belt and One Road” Initiative: A New World Order with Chinese Characteristics?”, Mapping China’s ‘One Belt One Road’ Initiative, (Der.) Li Xing, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, 1-27.
  • Xing, Li (2019b). “Understanding the Multiple Facets of China’s “One Belt One Road” Initiative”, Mapping China’s ‘One Belt One Road’ Initiative, (Der.) Li Xing, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, 29-56.
  • Vangeli, Anastas . 2018. ‘Global China and Symbolic Power: The Case of 16 + 1 Cooperation,’ Journal of Contemporary China, Vol. 27, No. 113, 674-687.
  • Yi, Wang. Speech at the Opening of Symposium on International Developments and China’s Diplomacy in 2017. 10 December 2017. May 2020. .