Abstract: This research examines China–Nepal trans-border road infrastructure development political and discursive dynamics, with an eye towards stakeholder-driven narratives, counter-narratives, and the institutionally embedded instruments that condition them. As economic or geopolitical calculation dominates much of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) scholarship, little attention has been directed towards how various stakeholders frame, contest, and legitimate infrastructure discourse. Employing the qualitative case study approach, this research combines stakeholder analysis, historical content analysis of policy documents and agreements, and narrative analysis of secondary sources such as government reports, think tank reports, NGO reports, and newspaper articles. Four dominating narratives—development and connectivity, geopolitical balancing, local livelihood concerns, and environmental/socio-cultural risks—alternatively constructed by governments, communities, experts, and the media are discovered from outcomes. Chinese and Nepali policy-makers are always keen on modernization and win-win cooperation, while domestic actors and NGOs stress environmental risks, debt trap, and displacement. Public rhetoric versus media accounts signify governance gaps and highlight politics of road building. World Bank quantitative indicators and official statistics in Nepal also substantiate perceptions of profligacy and weak institutional checks. By situating the narratives' construction at the interface of instruments, institutions, and contested discourses, the study contributes to a more refined understanding of China–Nepal connectivity projects' socio-political complexity beyond its conventional economic or strategic narratives.
Keywords: China-Nepal Relations, Governance, Infrastructure Politics, Stakeholder and Counter-Narratives, Policy Tools, Trans-Border Connectivity, and the Belt and Road Initiative.
Title: Constructing and Contesting Narratives: Stakeholder Perspectives, Counter-Narratives, and Policy Instruments in China-Nepal Trans-Border Road Infrastructure Development
Author: Nidhi Goswami
International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research
ISSN 2348-3156 (Print), ISSN 2348-3164 (online)
Vol. 13, Issue 4, October 2025 - December 2025
Page No: 9-14
Research Publish Journals
Website: www.researchpublish.com
Published Date: 04-October-2025
