The Geopolitics of Global Transportation in the Twenty-First Century

At the end of World War II, the United Nations designed an ambitious new global transportation system predicated on international cooperation. The onset of the Cold War prevented significant progress. The Eastern European revolutions of 1989 and the growing economic strength and cohesion of Western Europe gave the European Union a head start in reopening the millennial Silk Road route. The European Union planned a 21st century model of cooperation along multiple land routes that included support for economic development and education in addition to transportation. During the past thirty-five years, competing projects emerged to prioritize the countries of the Southern hemisphere. Russia, BRICS, and China took the lead in the new millennium and actively explored new transportation frontiers in Arctica, Antarctica, and in space. At this time, three major transportation development plans coexist: China’s Belt and Road Initiative, created in 2013, the United States’ and the G7 countries B3W Partnership, created in 2021, and the European Union’s Global Gateway, created in 2023. These three systems are in a complex state of “competitive cooperation” that puts into play powerful energy and economic transnational corporations and state actors.