Introduction

Abstract

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is an emerging regional organisation in post-Soviet Central Asia, which has become an important part of both Russia’s and China’s regional strategy towards Central Asia and the security and economic policies of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Beyond its importance to its member states, the development of the SCO is of wider significance to global politics, security and economics. Russia and China are two of the most prominent states of the international system because of their territorial size, economic capacity, military strength and status as permanent members of the UN Security Council. Indeed, this is reflected in their inclusion in the widely used categorisation of the BRIC countries, a term developed to label a set of states expected to develop into major political and economic powers in the next 50 years.¹ In addition, owing to their centralised political systems and views on international affairs, both of which are deemed to be distinct from those of the West, Russia and China are often depicted as alternative power centres within the international system. Therefore, the formation of a regional organisation comprising both Russia and China has important connotations for global politics, security and economics.