The Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Collective Security Treaty Organization: A Comparative Analysis
Authors
-
Ara Hemn Mahmood
University of Kurdistan Hewlêr, Iraq
Author
https://orcid.org/0009-0008-3824-4824
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52536/3006-807X.2026-1.005Keywords:
Central Asia, China, Collective Security Treaty Organization, regional organization, regionalism, Russia, Shanghai Cooperation OrganizationAbstract
This review article examines differences in the development of two major regional security organizations in Central Asia: the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). Although both organizations emerged in their initial phase as the guarantor of the security of Central Asian states after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, currently they have evolved in a different manner, and they are growing with different priorities. By synthesizing the literature on the SCO and the CSTO, along with the preferences of their main patron states - using the comparative research method of most similar systems design (MSSD) - this review contributes to a broader understanding of why regional organizations evolve differently while operating in the same geopolitical space and sharing a similar background once they emerged.
This review highlights that China's focus on economic growth through a peaceful rise and its aim to preserve regional stability have contributed to how the SCO has evolved and adapted into a diplomatic multilateral arena, surpassing the status of a regional organization. In contrast, Russia’s security strategy, aiming to use the CSTO to protect its sphere of influence and pursue economic integration through frameworks like the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), has limited the CSTO's development. The organization’s limitations are evident in its varied response to regional crises.
References
Allison, R. (2008). Virtual regionalism, regional structures and regime security in Central Asia. Central Asian Survey, 27(2), 185–200.
https://doi.org/10.1080/02634930802355121
Atasuntsev, A. (2023, October 13). Long-standing ties between Armenia and Russia are fraying fast. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
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. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20451609
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.
Buzan, B., & Wæver, O. (2003). Regions and powers: The structure of international security (1st ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Becquelin, N. (2004). Staged development in Xinjiang. The China Quarterly, 178, 358–378. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20192338
Beeson, M. (2005). Rethinking regionalism: Europe and East Asia in comparative historical perspective. Journal of European Public Policy, 12(6), 980–982. https://doi.org/10.1080/13501760500270620
Blank, S. (2012). Rethinking Central Asia and its security issues. UNISCI Discussion Papers, 28, 14–15.
Chung, C. (2004). The Shanghai Co-operation Organization: China’s changing influence in Central Asia. The China Quarterly, 180, 989–1009. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305741004000712
Clarke, M. (2010). China and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization: The dynamics of “new regionalism,” “vassalization,” and geopolitics in Central Asia. In E. Kavalski (Ed.), The new Central Asia: The regional impact of international actors (pp. 117–147). World Scientific.
Collins, K. (2009). Economic and security regionalism among patrimonial authoritarian regimes: The case of Central Asia. Europe-Asia Studies, 61(2), 249–281. https://doi.org/10.1080/09668130802630854
Cooley, A. (2012). Great games, local rules: The new great power contest in Central Asia (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.
Danilovich, M. V. (2013). The role of China in Central Asia: “Instrumentalization” of the SCO. In A. A. Rozanov (Ed.), The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and Central Asia’s security challenges. Geneva and Brussels: The Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces.
de Haas, M., & Putten, F. P. (2007). The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation: Towards a full-grown security alliance? (1st ed.). Nederlands Instituut voor Internationale Betrekkingen Clingendael.
de Haas, M. (2017). Relations of Central Asia with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Collective Security Treaty Organization. The Journal of Slavic Military Studies, 30(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/13518046.2017.1271642
Hemmer, C., & Katzenstein, P. J. (2002). Why is there no NATO in Asia? Collective identity, regionalism, and the origins of multilateralism. Cambridge Review of International Affairs, 56(3), 575–607.
Hedenskog, J., & von Essen, H. (2022, January 14). Russia’s CSTO intervention in Kazakhstan: Motives, risks and consequences. SCEEUS Commentary. https://www.ui.se/forskning/centrum-for-osteuropastudier/sceeus-commentary/russias-csto-intervention-in-kazakhstan-motives-risks-and-consequences/
Kropatcheva, E. (2016). Russia and the Collective Security Treaty Organisation: Multilateral policy or unilateral ambitions? Europe-Asia Studies, 68(9), 1526–1552. https://doi.org/10.1080/09668136.2016.1238878
Mayer, S. (2021). Cooperation from outside: Security regionalism in Central Asia and its limits. Central Asian Affairs, 8(2), 203–228. https://doi.org/10.30965/22142290-bja10017
Matveeva, A., & Giustozzi, A. (2008). The SCO: A regional organisation in the making (Crisis States Research Centre, Issue 2, p. 9).
Paramonov, D., & Strokov, D. (2008). The evolution of Russia's Central Asia policy. Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, Advanced Research and Assessment Group.
Palma de Seixas, E., França, H., Ribeiro, O., & Gama, C. F. (2014). The Shanghai Cooperation Organization and BRICS: The roles of China, Russia (and India). BPC Monitor, Policy Brief, 4(11).
Polanyi, K. (1945). Universal capitalism or regional planning? The London Quarterly of World Affairs, 10(3), 86–91.
Rauf, S., & Saud, A. (2020). Prospects of CSTO and SCO in regional politics of Central Asia. International Journal of Politics and Security (IJPS), 2(4), 30–50.
Söderbaum, F., & Sbragia, A. (2010). EU studies and the ‘new regionalism’: What can be gained from dialogue? Journal of European Integration, 32(6), 563–582. https://doi.org/10.1080/07036337.2010.518716
Tsygankov, A. P. (2018). Routledge handbook of Russian foreign policy. Routledge.
Weitz, R. (2014). The Collective Security Treaty Organization: Past struggles and future prospects. The Russian Analytical Digest, 152, 2–4.
Weitz, R. (2018). Assessing the Collective Security Treaty Organization: Capabilities and vulnerabilities. Hudson Institute.
Xiang, L. (2004). China’s Eurasian experiment. Survival, 46(2), 109–121. https://doi.org/10.1093/survival/46.2.109
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Mahmood A. H.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
Open content is licensed under the CC-BY 
