Shanghai Cooperation as a Mechanism for Regional Integration in Central Asia

Abstract

This article examines the theoretical complementarity between shelter theory and omnidirectional hedging in the foreign policy of small and medium-sized states. Both approaches offer alternatives to traditional concepts such as balancing, bandwagoning, and neutrality, which often fail to explain the multidimensional strategies adopted by states operating in asymmetric geopolitical environments. The article argues that shelter theory and omnidirectional hedging can be integrated into a broader analytical framework by extending omnidirectional hedging to incorporate a social dimension drawn from shelter theory. The proposed framework is particularly relevant for Central Asia, where states navigate corresponding pressures from Russia, China, Western actors, and regional institutions. Through qualitative conceptual analysis and illustrative discussion of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the article demonstrates that hedging is not only a strategy of diplomatic, economic, and security diversification, but also a socially embedded process shaped by domestic legitimacy, societal openness, education, mobility, and public support. Kazakhstan’s multi-vector foreign policy and Uzbekistan’s strategy of openness illustrate how social stability and societal development reinforce external diversification and strategic autonomy. By incorporating the social dimension into omnidirectional hedging, the article contributes to small-state foreign policy theory, hedging studies, and Eurasian studies.