THE INTERRACTION OF CHINA AND RUSSIA WITHIN THE SHANGHAI COOPERATION ORGANIZATION

Özet

Öz The end of Cold War didn’t only put its mark on the international political system, but also it caused a great difference in the bilateral relations between the important actors of the system. The nature of the relations between Russia and China has changed significantly under these conditions, especially in response to the USA’s claims for a worldwide hegemony. In the last three decades, the cooperation has become the central feature of this relation. The Russian dream for revitalizing her lost hegemony in the Central Asia in the post-Cold War setting hasn’t seen as a threat by China primarily eager to utilise from the economic potential of the same region. By establishing the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in 2001, the parties gave a formal institutional basis to their cooperation in the Central Asia and enriched their cooperation efforts by integrating the regional actors into the play. This study aims to elaborate on the Russia-China relations in the post-Cold War setting by putting their cooperation under the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to the centre. In this scope, the formation and development processes of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization are examined in the first part. The balance and interaction between the actors within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is elaborated in the second part. The study concludes that the future of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization will base on the success of Russia and China in mitigating the negative influences of their conflicting interests on their cooperation.