This map shows members (green), observers (blue) and dialogue partners (purple) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

This publication examines the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which has often been cast as a tool of Russian and Chinese cooperation aimed at countering the West, yet has evolved to be a dynamic institution that is carving out a more diverse role in multilateral affairs.

The SCO is comprised of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, and has come to play an important part in representing its collective membership’s viewpoint on international issues. Given that its membership includes China and Russia, it has a significant position within the international community. Indeed, the SCO appears to be placing itself at the center of the ongoing negotiation—or renegotiation—of the relationship between global and regional levels of governance.

About the author

Stephen Aris is a senior researcher at the Centre for Security Studies, ETH Zurich.

About this series

This paper is part of the Mapping Multilateralism in Transition series, which features short briefing papers on established but evolving regional organizations and select crossregional organizations.

Others papers in this series
New Report Examines Nordic Cooperation in Multilateral Diplomacy