FAQs
Why do we focus on these geographies?
The common thread that runs through these countries is that they are all becoming an increasingly important link in three international transport projects:
Beijing’s One Belt, One Road strategy, a large infrastructure project to connect East Asia and Europe.
Russia’s International North-South Corridor, which seeks to connect India with Europe via Iran and Russia, bypassing the Suez Canal.
The US and EU-led Middle Corridor, which aims to connect Europe with China via Central Asia and the Caucasus, bypassing Russia.
When it comes to supply chains and logistics in this corner of the world, the quality of publicly available analysis is inadequate. Too much is either academic and inaccessible or exaggerated and overemotional. This has resulted in a serious disconnect between Western understanding and the reality on the ground.
Why it matters
In the West, there are two key challenges when it comes to global supply chains: less reliance on China, and learning how to safeguard supply chains in times of conflict. But policymakers and companies are still trying to figure out how this all works and what it could look like.
This issue is a multifaceted one. There will need to be improvements on a variety of factors to make a difference in production, logistics, and distribution across the food, energy, and critical materials sectors, as well as addressing transportation bottlenecks.
As these concerns weigh on the minds of decision-makers across government and industry, we need to sharpen our analytical thinking.
There is a gap for something in between: data-driven analysis grounded in context, turned into actionable information, and delivered in a format that busy people could actually use.
Here we bridge that gap. We translate the language of logistics, business, security, economics and policy into language that is clear, analytical and actionable for fellow researchers and decision-makers across government and industry.
Our research contributes to supporting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 7, 9, 12 and 13) in developing economies in ensuring inclusive, accessible and sustainable transport infrastructure.
Where we have featured
Through this project, our research has been published in the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) and the International Railway Journal (IRJ).