Author(s)

Shabnam Dadparvar

Corresponding Author

Shabnam Dadparvar

Abstract

The coronavirus fallout has had an impact on the power balance in Central Asia, a strategic region that possesses significant energy resources. The present research argues that, while the pandemic has caused economic, health, medical, social, and psychological crises in both rich and developing countries, it has also prompted a surge in nationalism and a renewed focus on crisis resolution within the countries. Following the outbreak, the Central Asia region, which had previously been the scene of struggle between regional and international powers, experienced a significant increase in the need for assistance and support from other countries. In the meantime, China acquired the upper hand and exerted power in the region by overcoming the coronavirus epidemic internally at a rapid pace before other powers in the region. This was accomplished through the use of structural and communication means. As a result, by speeding up changes and providing urgent and fundamental needs for the countries of the region, the coronavirus pandemic laid the groundwork for China's emergence as a hegemonic power. The present study attempts to explain these changes in relation to the pandemic in Central Asia by employing hegemonic stability theory and a descriptive-analytical research approach.

Keywords

China, Central Asia, Hegemonic Power, Coronavirus, the Balance of Power