Document Type : Research Paper
Author
PhD Candidate of Strategic Management, Supreme National Defense University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
The perspective of integration and deepening cooperation among SCO members within last two decades, especially after its recent geographical extension towards South Asia, is faced with serious questions. The most long lasting bilateral disagreement in SCO is the issue about Kashmir between India and Pakistan. A divergence of Beijing and Moscow’s perception about international system and their different expectations from SCO – besides some other factors) also has led to disintegration in Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The present article tries to find an answer for the following question: what are the main internal rivalries in SCO and how will they affect its consistency and future? The author addresses the hypothesis that “the rivalry between China and Russia for determining SCO’s approach and outlines as well as the Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan are the SCO’s main challenges. The former through scattering SCO’s priorities and the latter one through weakening security and defensive relations among the members prevents the Shanghai Cooperation Organization from its future integration and improvement”.
Keywords
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