Driving Bargaining Power Through Landlocked to Land‐Linked Economy: The Case of Kazakhstan and Belt and Road Initiative

Regional economic disparities and unbalanced economic growth have led to a lack of essential capabilities and cohesion among individual economies. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) serves as a driver for host countries' leadership to align their national development programs with the Chinese initiative. This paper applies the China‐Kazakhstan context, which is particularly interesting to explore due to Kazakhstan's central position as the main hub of the BRI economic corridors. Building on the theoretical perspectives of legitimacy and bargaining power, the research shows how geopolitics influence the bargaining power of China and the host country at the country, firm, and SEZ levels, creating spillover effects for third countries involved. The BRI has become an important enabler for government and institutional initiatives, such as the supranational cross‐border development of Special Economic Zones (SEZs), inter‐organizational cooperative projects, and others, improving Kazakhstan's relative position in the region, attracting foreign direct investment (FDI), and transforming the country into a strong regional player. Based on a cross‐level analysis of the BRI and Kazakhstan's economic growth, the research develops a conceptual framework supported by a set of propositions. The study proposes that Chinese investments have had a considerable impact on Kazakhstan's development, even though there are some challenges, particularly those linked to the negative public perception of the BRI.