Established in 2001, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has come a long way, and now elicits considerable interest in the world. In the present special issue of Valdai papers the author considers the aspects of the organization’s new role nowadays.
The author considers admitting of new members as the only thing the SCO can do to keep from becoming yet another club for discussion. With these new members, the SCO could be regarded as an emerging cornerstone of the multipolar world in the making a platform offering a Eurasian alternative to the Western world.All in all, the SCO should remain a regional organization and gradually develop its capacity to address regional security issues on its own.
The author of the article is Alexander Lukin, Department Head, Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs, School of International Affairs, National Research University Higher School of Economics; Director, Center for East Asian and SCO Studies, Moscow State Institute of International Relations of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
