The Shanghai Cooperation Organization and Regional Security in Central Asia

Year 2024, Volume: 23 Issue: 3, 1149 - 1166, 30.07.2024

Muhammet Faruk Çakır

https://doi.org/10.21547/jss.1416922

Abstract

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is a loosely organized, multi-purpose international institution. Unlike security institutions with a high level of integration, it has no integrated military structure, rapid reaction force, and a dispute resolution mechanism. This raises a fundamental question about the SCO's security role: Does the SCO have the capacity to contribute meaningfully to its members' ability to overcome the perceived threats to their security and to establish a regional order? This study suggests that this question can be answered by looking at the ability of the organization to fulfil the functions that are expected from it by the member states. For this reason, the functions that member states expect the SCO to perform in the field of security are identified in the first place, and then, it has been discussed how and to what extent the organization performs these functions under changing global and regional conditions. These security functions are ensuring an accord between the Central Asian policies pursued by China and Russia and the inclusion of Central Asian members in the accord, combating transnational threats, and the exclusion of the West from Central Asia. It can be observed that the first function has become the most important contribution of the SCO to regional security over time because China and Russia have pursued diverging policies towards the region and an asymmetry in favour of China has emerged in their bilateral relations. This study has also stated that the functions of the SCO are interconnected and affect each other. The findings of this study support the opinion that an evaluation of a security institution’s contribution to regional security should take into account the region-specific conditions in addition to the level of integration in the regional organization.

Keywords

Rusya, regional security, security institutions, Central Asia, China

Şangay İşbirliği Örgütü ve Orta Asya’da Bölgesel Güvenlik

Abstract

Şangay İşbirliği Örgütü (ŞİÖ), gevşek örgütlenmiş, çok amaçlı bir uluslararası kurumdur. Entegrasyon düzeyi yüksek güvenlik kurumlarından farklı olarak ortak askerî yapı, hızlı müdahale gücü ve anlaşmazlıkları çözüm mekanizmasına sahip değildir. Bu durum, ŞİÖ’nün güvenlik alnındaki rolü ile ilgili olarak; örgüt, üyelerin, maruz kaldıkları güvenlik tehditlerinin üstesinden gelme ve bir bölgesel düzen kurma kabiliyetine anlamlı bir katkıda bulunma kapasitesine sahip midir sorusunu gündeme getirmektedir. Bu makalede, üye devletlerin örgütten yerine getirmesini bekledikleri işlevlere bakılarak bu soruya cevap verilebileceği önerilmektedir. Dolayısıyla bu makalede önce üye devletlerin ŞİÖ’den güvenlik alanında ifa etmesini beklediği işlevler tespit edilmeye çalışılmakta, daha sonra örgütün değişen küresel ve bölgesel şartlar altında bu işlevleri nasıl ve ne ölçüde yerine getirdiği tartışılmaktadır. Söz konusu güvenlik işlevleri sırasıyla şunlardır: Çin ve Rusya’nın izlediği Orta Asya siyasetleri arasında uyum sağlanması ve uyuma Orta Asyalı üyelerin dâhil olması işlevi, ulusötesi tehditlerle ortaklaşa mücadele işlevi ve Orta Asya’da Batı etkisini sınırlama işlevi. Bunlar arasında birinci işlevin; Çin ve Rusya’nın Orta Asya’ya yönelik olarak zıt siyasetler izlemeleri ve aralarındaki ikili ilişkilerde de Çin lehine asimetri ortaya çıkması durumu nedenleriyle, zamanla ŞİÖ’nün bölge güvenliğine yaptığı en önemli katkı hâline geldiği gözlemlenebilir. İşlevlerin birbiri ile bağlantılı olduğu ve birbirini etkilediği de bu çalışmada belirtilmiştir. Bu çalışmanın bulguları, bir güvenlik kurumunun bölgesel güvenliğe katkısı değerlendirilirken, entegrasyon düzeyine ilaveten bölgenin sahip olduğu kendine özgü şartların da hesaba katılması gerektiği kanaatini desteklemektedir.

Keywords

bölgesel güvenlik, güvenlik kurumu, Orta Asya, Çin, Rusya

References

• Aben, D. (2019). Regional security in Central Asia. Eurasian Research Journal, 1 (1), 51-65.
• Alimov, R. (2018). The role of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in counteracting threats to peace and security. Journal of Eurasian Studies, 9 (1), 114-124.
• Ambrosio, T. (2008). Catching the ‘Shanghai spirit’: How the Shanghai Cooperation Organization promotes authoritarian norms in Central Asia. Europe-Asia Studies, 60 (8), 1321-1344.
• Aris, S. (2009). The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation: 'Tackling the three evils'. A regional response to non-traditional security challenges or an anti-western bloc? Europe-Asia Studies, 61 (3), 457-482.
• Aris, S. (2011). Eurasian regionalism: The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan. Bailes, A. J., Cottey, A. (2006). Regional security cooperation in the early 21st century. SIPRI Yearbook 2006 (s. 195-222). Stockholm: SIPRI.
• Bailes, A. J., Dunay, P. (2007). The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is a regional institution. (Bailes, A. J., Dunay, P., Guang, P., Troitskiy, M. ed.), The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SIPRI Policy Paper No. 17), (1-29). Erişim tarihi: 30.06.2023, https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/31817/Policypaper17.pdf
• Blank, S. (2008). The strategic importance of Central Asia: an American view. Parameters, 38 (1), 73-87.
• Botting, L. (11 Ocak 2022). China and Russia both benefited from the CSTO intervention in Kazakhstan. The Diplomat. Erişim tarihi: 30.06.2023, https://thediplomat.com/2022/01/china-and-russia-both-benefit-from-the-csto-intervention-in-kazakhstan/
• Carlson, Brian G. (2023). Central Asia in an era of great-power rivalry (CSS Analyses in Security Policy, No. 327). Erişim tarihi: 10.09.2023, https://ethz.ch/content/dam/ethz/special-interest/gess/cis/center-for-securities-studies/pdfs/CSSAnalyse327-EN.pdf
• Clarke, M. (2010). Widening the net: China’s anti-terror laws and human rights in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The International Journal of Human Rights, 14 (4), 542–558.
• Clarke, M. (2016). One belt, one road, and China’s emerging Afghanistan dilemma. Australian Journal of International Affairs, 70 (5), 563-579.
• Cooley, A. (2012). Great games, local rules the new great power contest in Central Asia. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Frost, A. (2009). The Collective Security Treaty Organization, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and Russia’s strategic goals in Central Asia. China and Eurasia Forum Quarterly, 7 (3), 83-102.
• Gabuev, A. (2016). Crouching bear, hidden dragon: “One belt one road” and Chinese-Russian jostling for power in Central Asia. Journal of Contemporary East Asia Studies, 5 (2), 61-78.
• Haacke, J., Williams, P. D. (2009). Regional arrangements and security challenges: A comparative analysis (LSE Working Paper no. 52). Erişim tarihi: 20.06.2023, https://eprints.lse.ac.uk/24696/1/WP52.2.pdf
• Haas, M. (2013). Russian–Chinese security relations: Moscow’s threat from the east? (Clingendael Institute, Report No. 3). Erişim tarihi: 30.06.2023, https://www.clingendael.org/sites/default/files/2016-02/20130327_rc_securityrelations.pdf
• Korolev, A., Portyakov, V. (2018). China-Russia relations in times of crisis: A neoclassical realist explanation. Asian Perspective, 42, 411-437.
• Lanteigne, M. (2007). ‘In medias res’: The development of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as a security community. Pacific Affairs, 79 (4), 605-622.
• Lanteigne, M. (2018). Russia, China, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization: Diverging security interests and the Crimea effect. (Blakkisrud, H., Rowe, E. W. ed.). Russia’s turn to the east (219-238). Palgrave Macmillan.
• Lee, G. (2012). Between multilateralism and bilateralism. (Pempel, T. J., Lee C. eds.). Security cooperation in Northeast Asia (65-85). London: Routledge.
• Lukin, A. (2021). The Russia–China entente and its future. International Politics, 58, 363-380.
• Makocki, M., Popescu, N. (2016). China and Russia: an eastern partnership in the making? (Chaillot Paper, 140). Paris: EU Institute for Strategic Studies.
• McDermott, R. N. (2012). The Shanghai Cooperation Organization's impact on Central Asian security. Problems of Post-Communism, 59 (4), 56-65.
• Mirza, M. N., Ayub, S. (2021). Sino-Russian competitive collaboration for the Central Asian sphere of influence. Trames. Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences, 25 (4), 437-450.
• Ong, R. (2005). China's security interests in Central Asia. Central Asian Survey, 24 (4), 425-439.
• Pempel, T. J. (2012). Security architecture in Northeast Asia projections from the rearview mirror. (Pempel, T. J., Lee, C. eds.). Security cooperation in Northeast Asia (212-232). London: Routledge.
• Rozanov, A. A. (2013). The issue of security in the SCO. (Rozanov A. A. ed.). The Shanghai Cooperation Organization and Central Asia’s security challenges (37-49). Geneva: Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces. Erişim tarihi: 30.06.2023, www.dcaf.ch
• Serikkaliyeva, A. (2019). The role of the Central Asian region in China’s new silk road economic belt project. Eurasian Research Journal, 1 (1), 66-81.
• Shanghai Cooperation Organization (2015). Development strategy of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization until 2025. Erişim tarihi: 15.11.2023, https://eng.sectsco.org/documents/
• Silvan, K. (2021). Russian policy towards Central Asia 30 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union (FIIA Briefing Paper No.322). Erişim tarihi: 30.06.2023, https://www.fiia.fi/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/bp322_kristiina-silvan_russian-policy-towards-central-asia-30-years-after-the-collapse-of-the-soviet-union.pdf
• Troitskiy, M. (2007). A Russian perspective on the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, (Bailes, A. J., Dunay, P., Guang, P., Troitskiy, M. ed.), The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SIPRI Policy Paper No. 17), (30-44). Erişim tarihi: 30.06.2023, https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/31817/Policypaper17.pdf
• Tukmadiyeva, M. (2013). Xinjiang in China’s foreign policy toward Central Asia. Connections: The Quarterly Journal, 12, 87-108.
• Xinhua (21.09.2022). Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan willing to settle border conflicts peacefully: SCO secretary-general. Erişim tarihi: 30.06.2023, https://english.news.cn/20220921/bf0f0565fb7f4aee9c5afc73b220b657/c.html