Geographical complexities with Tibet and political complexities with India are the major factors affecting Nepal’s ‘transit diplomacy’ through which it hopes to attain prosperity. Besides the geography hypothesis and the culture hypothesis, inclusive economic institutions at home are essential for not just generating prosperity but also for simplifying geopolitical complexities.

The former Soviet republic of Belarus, which lies along the main transit corridor connecting Moscow and Western Europe, is one of the Continent’s few remaining black holes for motorists, a landlocked country where reliable, current map information is closely held by the authoritarian government.