Current Research
My current research interests focus on the application of Chinese economic statecraft via the Maritime Silk Road Initiative (MSRI) in terms of understanding whether or not this application has generated political/strategic leverage for China in parts of the world traversed by the MSRI. My most recent research on the topic has dealt with questions pertaining to the String of Pearls debate surrounding Chinese investments in ports in South Asia and the Indian Ocean Region. Indeed, I am interested in better understanding the existence of any form of security implications of MSRI projects. I am currently working on a project dealing with Chinese investments in the Doraleh Container Terminal in Djibouti so as to better comprehend the association between these investments, political influence (often labelled as 'debt-trap diplomacy') and the agency of 'recipient' states - in this case, the Djiboutian government.
Past Research
Dr Barton's most recent publications include the following:
Books and Monographs
The Doraleh Disputes: Infrastructure Politics in the Global South, Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan, November 2022.
Political Trust and the Politics of Security Engagement: China and the European Union in Africa, Abingdon: Routledge, September 2017.
Jing Men and Benjamin Barton (eds.), 中国，欧盟在非洲：欧中关系中的非洲因素 ('China and the European Union: Partners or Competitors in Africa?'), Beijing: Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, December 2011.
Jing Men and Benjamin Barton (eds.), China and the EU in Africa: Partners or Competitors?, Farnham: Ashgate Publishings, May 2011.
Book chapters
Benjamin Barton, 'Public Diplomacy in EU-Asia Relations: An Asian Perspective', in Thomas Christiansen, Evi Fitriani, Emil Kirchner and Youngah Guakh (eds.), The Palgrave Handbook of EU-Asia Relations, Singapore : Palgrave Macmillan (forthcoming 2026).
Benjamin Barton, 'Building bridges to Asia? A critical appraisal of the Global Gateway's place in Southeast Asia's complex infrastructure politics', in Sameer Kumar (ed.), Bridging Asia-Europe Relations, Singapore: Springer Nature (forthcoming 2025).
Benjamin Barton, 'The Belt and Road Initiative at ten (2013-2023): A crucial juncture for China's infrastructure geopolitics'', in Julian Henderson, Stephen L. Morgan & Matteo Salonia (eds.), Reimagining The Silk Roads: Interactions and Perceptions Across Eurasia, Abingdon: Routledge, December 2024, 298-308
Benjamin Barton, 'La politique sécuritaire de la Chine en Afrique : Vers une évolution de fond du principe de non-ingérence ?', in Sophie Wintgens and Xavier Aurégan (eds.), Les Dynamiques de la Chine en Afrique et Amérique Latine : Enjeux, Défis et Perspectives, Brussels: Éditions Academia, March 2019.
Benjamin Barton and Ariane de Bellefroid, 'China and the EU in Sub-Saharan Africa', in Jan Wouters, Jean-Christophe Defraigne and Matthieu Burnay (eds.), EU-China in the World: Analysing Relations with Developing and Emerging Countries, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, February 2015
Benjamin Barton, 'The Emergence of the European External Action Service (EEAS): A Retrospective on the Institutional Wrangling for the Soul of European Diplomacy', in Dieter Mahncke and Sieglinde Gstöhl (eds.), European Union Diplomacy: Coherence, Unity and Effectiveness, Brussels: P.I.E. Pieter Lang Publishers, March 2012
Jing Men and Benjamin Barton, 'China's Soft Power: A Blessing or a Challenge to World Governance?', in Guo Sujian and Deng Zhenlai (eds.), China's Searches for Good Governance: Inside and Outside China, London: Palgrave Macmillan, October 2011
Refereed journal articles
Benjamin Barton and Padraig Carmody, 'Testbed or thoroughfare? Africa's place in China's evolving grand strategy', Journal of Contemporary China (2025)
Benjamin Barton, '''All for one and none for all'? A regime theory reappraisal of South-South Cooperation's geopolitical erosion', Journal of Global South Studies (2025)
Benjamin Barton, 'Infrastructure nationalism and political vulnerability - Examining the stalled negotiations over the Bagamoyo port project during Magufuli's reign', Journal of Asian and African Studies (2021)
Benjamin Barton, 'Agency and Autonomy in the Maritime Silk Road Initiative: An Examination of Djibouti's Doraleh Container Terminal Disputes', The Chinese Journal of International Politics (2021)
Benjamin Barton, 'The Belt-and-Road Initiative as a paradigm change for European Union-China security cooperation? The case of Central Asia', Asia-Europe Journal (2021)
Benjamin Barton, 'Leveraging the "String of Pearls" for strategic gains? An assessment of the Maritime Silk Road Initiative's (MSRI) economic/security nexus in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR)', Asian Security, 2020, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 216-235.
Benjamin Barton, 'China's security policy in Africa: A new or false dawn for the evolution for the evolution of the application of China's non-interference principle?', South African Journal of International Affairs, 2018, vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 413-434.
Benjamin Barton, 'The EU's Engagement of China in the Indian Ocean - Getting the People's Liberation Army Navy Onboard in the Fight against Somali Piracy', The RUSI Journal, 2013, vol. 158, no. 6, pp. 66-73
Policy Papers
Benjamin Barton, The United Kingdom and the Belt-and-Road Initiative (BRI) in a post-Brexit Age: Getting the UK BRI Policy Response Right, Nottingham: University of Nottingham Asia Research Institute Policy Brief Background Report
E-articles
Benjamin Barton, 'Regime theory, BRICS membership and policy implications for Southeast Asia', FACTS Asia, 2025
Benjamin Barton, 'How the German government was divided by a Chinese investment in the Port of Hamburg', The Conversation, 2022
Benjamin Barton, 'The European Union in the Indo-Pacific: Balancing China, cooperating with the Philippines', FACTS Asia, 2022
Benjamin Barton, 'The European Union and regional security the Indo-Pacific: Quo vadis?', Philippine Strategic Forum, 2021
Benjamin Barton, 'Prospects for EU-China security cooperation in the age of the Belt and Road Initiative', Asia Dialogue, 2019
Benjamin Barton, 'China's security footprint in Africa: Towards an evolution of the application of its non-interference principle?', Asia Dialogue, 2018
Benjamin Barton, 'Counter-Piracy Cooperation: A Case Study of the EU-China Strategic Partnership', The Glocal, 2013
Benjamin Barton, 'The EU-China Strategic Partnership: Counter-Piracy Cooperation Game-Changer?', e-International Relations, 2013
Future Research
My research will continue to explore the economic/security nexus of the Maritime Silk Road as it evolves, with a geographic focus encompassing South Asia, the Indian Ocean and the African continent.