Asia’s Era of Infrastructure and the Politics of Corridors: Decoding the Language of Logistical Governance

The essay analyses the politics of corridors as an inner logic of Asia’s Era of Infrastructure and the emergence of corridors as logistical institutions. By analyzing texts and policies prompted by international organizations such as the World Bank or the ADB or actors such as China along the so-called Belt and Road, the essay shows that corridors, from a subterranean trend in the history of the relation between economy and space, are now emerging as a commonsense reference in discourses of governance and policy-making. The essay argues that corridors take the political reorganization achieved through zones a step further and produce specific governing dynamics and agencies whose role is growing as a consequence of the relevance assumed by logistics, connectivity and infrastructure for global politics.