What Is the SCO Doing Wrong? Lessons From ASEAN and SAARC – The Diplomat

As the annual Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in July came to an end, questions about the futility of the organization remained. Initiated by China as the Shanghai Five in 1996, the organization for a long time included most Central Asian states plus Russia and China, before expanding to include India, Pakistan, and Iran. 

This year the Council of the Heads of States issued a lengthy declaration, including pompous statements and listing the widest possible range of initiatives, agreements, and proposals addressing nearly all…