FROM CONCEPTION TO STALEMATE: AN ASSESSMENT OF THE INDIA-MIDDLE EAST-EUROPE ECONOMIC CORRIDOR (IMEC)

Abstract

The India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) is a cross-regional connectivity initiative proposed in 2023 by the United States in cooperation with India, the European Union, and several Middle Eastern partners. It has been framed as an alternative infrastructure network intended to counter China’s Belt and Road Initiative, facilitate geopolitical realignment in the Middle East, and reinforce U.S. leadership under conditions of intensifying great-power competition. Shortly after its announcement, however, the initiative entered a state of de facto stagnation, exposing a significant gap between strategic ambition and practical implementation. This article argues that IMEC’s difficulties stem from a set of structural constraints. The escalation of the Israel-Palestine conflict undermined the political premise of Saudi-Israeli normalization on which the project implicitly relied, while fluctuations in the U.S. domestic political cycle weakened sustained strategic commitment and resource allocation. At the same time, participating actors diverge in their positions toward China and in their underlying interest structures, and the project faces unresolved challenges related to economic feasibility, financing mechanisms, and implementation capacity. Taken together, these factors suggest that IMEC is more likely to remain dormant or undergo limited functional adjustment rather than achieve a comprehensive revival, highlighting the vulnerability of highly politicized transnational infrastructure initiatives in an era of strategic competition.