Chapter 5: The Shanghai Cooperation Organization and Its Potential Impact on Sino-Indian Security
5.1 The SCO as an International Institution
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As such, it is necessary to analyze the degree of institutionalization of the SCO, its success and achievements in terms of pacification in Central Asia as well as its potential role for improving Sino-Indian relations. Like the previous case study, the author will try to answer the following questions:
● Can the SCO be considered as a strong institution?
● Could the SCO play a role in territorial dispute settlement between China and India?
● How big is the impact of the SCO in the region as conflict manager?
● How is the SCO structured in terms of sanctions enforcement and dispute resolution?
The author will first analyze the previous experiences for the Organization as a conflict manager, then the structure/level of institutionalization, the rational design as well as the SCO Charter, and lastly the challenge of India’s new membership and the potential development of Sino-Indian relations within the SCO. In this chapter, the author will focus on the security aspect of the SCO impact on Sino-Indian relations. Indeed, the author believes short-term economics will not be the main priority of the SCO after the added membership of India and Pakistan.
5.1 The SCO as an International Institution
The Institutional Development
In 2001, through its Founding Declaration, the SCO established its institution system with permanent members, and observers such as India, Pakistan, Iran and Mongolia. In 2009, the Organization also granted associate member status to Sri Lanka and Belarus. The SCO is targeting transnational security challenges and the development of economic cooperation to achieve regional stability. By increasing its countries member economic interdependence, the SCO hopes to facilitate trust-building as explained in the Interdependence Theory. Its institutionalization process can be divided into phases. From 2001 to 2004, the Organization
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developed its institutional ground based on interstate and then supra-state actions. By 2004, the SCO established seven organs such as the Secretariat in Beijing and the Anti-terrorist Structure in Tashkent. In 2003, its Charter came into effect (Aris 2011, p 5).
After resolving border issues, the SCO is now focused since 2001 on non-traditional security and the so-called three evils: Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism. A convention was signed in 2001 for members to cooperate on non-traditional security. They also extended the cooperation to fight or organized crime and narcotics, and developed traditional security collaboration such as large scale SCO military maneuvers.
Structure
The SCO fulfills the criteria of the status of a regional organization. The member countries want to initiate a new global vision with regard to security, containing principles of mutual trust, disarmament as well as cooperation and security. This new vision of the world is important for International Relations. According to the UN, an International Organization should exist within the legal framework of the Charter of the UN. An international Organization should target a specific region and be based on a collective treaty. The IO should be in ad equation with the Purposes and Principles which stipulate that the IO’s primary task is the maintenance of peace and the settlement of regional international disputes among its member states (Al-Qahtani 2006, p 132). In this sense, the SCO fulfills every criterion since its main goal is to maintain peace and stability, and boost economic development in the region.
Regarding its institutional framework, the SCO established a permanent and independent core of institutions. The institutionalization of the SCO is advanced and its structure contains an “internal mechanism which organizes regular meetings for member states” (Zhao 2006, p 110). Thanks to the creation of its permanent organs, the SCO has full
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developed a regional structure that can manage daily activities but also quickly respond to emergency issues (Pan 2004, p 5). The Secretariat and the RATS constitutes permanently functioning backbones for the SCO. They installed a significant degree of stability (Aris 2011, p21).
The SCO has many organs (see Figure 5.1 below) which allow the IO to function properly. Firstly, the Council of Heads of State is the most important organ; it makes the main decisions and defines the main priorities as well as areas of cooperation. It also considers international issues and discusses internal functioning and dysfunction. Below the Heads of State, the SCO implemented bodies to encourage regular and routine meetings of national government departments and agencies. They are in charge of the implementation process of the Organization as well as the coordination of approaches and policies. Therefore, the Council Head of government is mainly specialized in the economic sphere and decides major issues but has less power than the Head of States Council. It also plans the SCO budget. The Meeting of Heads of Ministries has to work on details and has to facilitate policy directions of the Council of Head of States. More precisely, it brings relevant domestic bodies into forming effective policies. The Council of National Coordinators is an administrative organ which handles administrative daily activities of the SCO (Aris 2011, p 21-24). On the other hand, the Secretariat based in Beijing is a permanent organ. This organ is the bureaucratic backbone of the SCO and is designed to function on a non-partisan basis. Employees do not serve national interests but rather the Organization as a whole. The RATS based in Tashkent is the other permanent organ of the SCO and can be considered as a distinct organ within the SCO (it has a distinct treaty). This organ is specialized for security cooperation and is the most effective mechanism within the SCO (Ibid 2011, p 32-33).
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Figure 5.1: Organizational Structure of the SCO 0-1
Sources : Eurasian Regionalism, The Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Aris Stephen, 2011, p 21.
As such, the SCO has planned the procedure for the implementation of elite’s decision to the effective local policies. Through the different stages, multilateral cooperation is evident and planned. This shows the highly level of the institutionalization of the SCO.
Rational Design
Membership rules:
The SCO membership is regionally based and is the most comprehensive membership in Central Asia. Its members represent four out of the five central Asian republics as well as the two most influential powers in the region. The new membership of India and Pakistan were a reflected decision and is logical as they are the two next bordering countries also affected by Afghanistan’s instability.
Scope of issues covered:
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Initially established to reduce tension between states in Central Asia, the SCO is now focused on intraregional and regime security. They clearly stated the fight against the three evils such as terrorism, separatism and extremism. Therefore in the security area, the SCO has the duty to maintain peace and to enhance security and confidence in the region. The SCO has also more or less settled the border dispute between the member states. The priority has now switched to the fight against “anti-regime” groups and against crimes. On the other hand, the SCO wants to promote economic cooperation in Central Asia. Economics is now considered equal priority to security cooperation. Other areas of cooperation of a more cultural level are also on the way. Thus the scope of the SCO is relatively broad but well defined. The IO is moving forward through stages which emphasizes the success of each area of cooperation.
First member states focused on border settlement, then on the three evils and new area of economic cooperation and thereafter, cultural and low politic cooperation. Regarding the definition of the IO scope challenge for an IO to be successful, the SCO can be successful in enforcing compliance of member states and to successfully establish cooperation within its framework.
Centralization of tasks:
As the SCO has a non-sovereign design, the centralization of tasks could encounter some issues. Indeed member states as they are autocratic are not willing to give up authority which let the SCO with a peculiar situation. Decisions are mostly taken under informal context by states’ elites. However, the SCO has established permanent organs such as its Secretariat in Beijing which ensure cooperation. The SCO Secretariat coordinates the activity of the SCO and provides informational, analytical, legal, organizational and technical support.
Thanks to its centralized headquarters, the SCO has more chances to guarantee its success.
Rules for controlling the Institution:
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The SCO model of cooperation is an intergovernmental organization but with no sovereign control. Moreover, the member states have equal rights and powers through votes.
SCO decisions are based on consensus. The SCO charter was also established to set up rules for the organization and provide a framework bases. Moreover, the Charter explicitly states that the “SCO bodies shall take decisions by agreement without votes, and decisions shall be adopted if no member states raised objections during the vote (consensus)” (Aris 2011).
Flexibility
The degree of flexibility of the SCO can be considered as high because of the limited sovereignty the members state are willing to give to the SCO. Thus the development of the SCO agenda is the product of dialogue and agreement between states’ elites and not as other western international institutions: a predetermined plan. This degree of flexibility enables the