Politics of Regional Security: The Question of Afghanistan’s Membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization

Abstract

This thesis critically explores the question of Afghanistan’s participation in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, considering both the country’s motivations in joining the SCO as a full member and the organization’s and its members’ perspectives on Afghanistan and its relevance for them. The analysis is pursued in general from the perspective of regional security cooperation – a theme that has dominated discussions of peace-building and development in the post-Taliban Afghanistan, and with critical application of the Regional Security Complex Theory (RSCT) of Barry Buzan and Ole Weaver in particular. The thesis proposes that, contrary to the view that Afghanistan does not belong in any RSC, the country is in the midst of a major RSC that is composed of the members (China, Russia, the Central Asian four countries) and soon-to-be members (India and Pakistan) of SCO. As the thesis reveals, there are serious grounds for SCO members’ interest in Afghanistan – dominated by fears of spillover effects of instability in Afghanistan into the neighboring countries, and still more reasons for Afghanistan’s interests in joining the SCO. However, as also revealed, Afghanistan’s full SCO membership would not be an unmixed blessing.