Trans-Regionalism, Regionalism, and Realism are what Explain India-Pakistan Relations Under the Shanghai Cooperation Organization

Hameedullah Khan; Manzoor Khan Afridi

doi:10.54418/ca-96.241

Authors

Hameedullah Khan PhD. Scholar, Department of Politics and International Relations, International Islamic University Islamabad, (Pakistan) http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1515-923l6
Manzoor Khan Afridi Professor/Dean Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Politics and International Relations, International Islamic University, Islamabad (Pakistan).

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54418/ca-96.241

Keywords:

India-Pakistan relations, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, trans-regionalism, regionalism, realism, regional security, conflict resolution.

Abstract

Regionalism, along with realism and trans-regionalism, has largely shaped relations between India and Pakistan in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). This paper seek to analyze how the three theoretical perspectives have influenced the interaction between India and Pakistan within the context of the SCO. India and Pakistan joined the SCO as member states from the South Asian region. As a trans-regional organization, the SCO has provided both countries with an opportunity to engage in multilateral diplomacy and discussions. This has enabled both countries to be in a position to deal with common interests and factor areas of interaction apart from the prevalent tension. It has also compelled India and Pakistan to play the regional cards, though they cooperate and compete with each other in the organization to define their regional power in the SCO. Realism, a tradition of inter-state interests and power balance, has played a significant role in the India-Pakistan relationship within the SCO. Both countries have utilized the SCO to further their strategic and security interests, thus showing cooperation along with potential competition.

References

Acharya, Amitav. "2 Regionalism and the Emerging World Order." In New Regionalisms in the Global Political Economy, 121. 2002.

Adil, Hafsa. "At SCO Summit, India, Pakistan Squabble over Kashmir, ‘Terrorism’." Aljazeera, May 8, 2023. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/8/at-sco-summit-india-pakistan-squabble-over-kashmir-terrorism.

Ahad, Abdul. "To Revive Relations with India, Pakistan Must Put Its Own House in Order First." Dawn News, June 23, 2023. https://www.dawn.com/news/1758274.

Ahmed, Zahid Shahab, and Stuti Bhatnagar. "Interstate Conflicts and Regionalism in South Asia: Prospects and Challenges." Perceptions: Journal of International Affairs 13, no. 1 (2008): 1–19.

Ahmed, Zahid Shahab, Sarfraz Ahmed, and Stuti Bhatnagar. "Conflict or Cooperation? India and Pakistan in Shanghai Cooperation Organisation." Pacific Focus 34, no. 1 (2019): 25–30.

Akhtar, Mariam, and Afifa Kiran. "Shanghai Cooperation Organization and Conflict Resolution: A Comparative Study of Pakistan and India Bilateral Relations." NDU Journal (2018).

Ali, Faraz, and Hameed Ullah Khan. "Unequal Faith: Examining Religious Freedom and the Path Forward for Minorities in Bangladesh." International Journal of Social Sciences Bulletin 3, no. 5 (2025): 709-721.

Ali, Muhammad, and Syed Mussawar Hussain Bukhari. "Indian Military Doctrine and Its Impact on South Asia’s Strategic Stability." Margalla Papers 26, no. I (2022): 74–84.

Ambrosio, Thomas. Authoritarian Regionalism in the World of International Organizations: Global Perspectives and the Eurasian Enigma. Abingdon: Routledge, 2017.

Aris, Stephen. "The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation: A Eurasian Security Actor?" In Regional Organisations and Security, 141–160. Routledge, 2013.

Aris, Stephen. Eurasian Regionalism: The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.

Ashraf, Mubeen, and Syed Saif ul Haq. "Strategic Transformations: India's Pursuit of Counterforce Targeting and Regional Stability." Margalla Papers 27, no. 2 (2023): 14–26.

Azizi, Saeed. "China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI): The Role of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Geopolitical Security and Economic Cooperation." Open Journal of Political Science 14, no. 1 (2024): 111–129.

Azkia, Haffiza Syeda. “SCO in an Era of New Regionalism.” Modern Diplomacy, January 29, 2023. https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2023/01/29/sco-in-an-era-of-new-regionalism/.

Bose, Sumantra. Kashmir at the Crossroads: Inside a 21st-Century Conflict. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2020.

Buzan, Barry. Security: A New Framework for Analysis. 1998.

Chawla, Shalini, ed. India's Neighbourhood: Challenges and Opportunities. 2023.

Choi, LTC Taewon. “The Prospect of Cooperation and Integration among Central Asian States.” CSAG Strategy Paper, NESA Center, 2023. https://nesa-center.org/the-prospect-of-cooperation-and-integration-among-central-asian-states/.

Das, Debak. "The State of Nuclear Instability in South Asia: India, Pakistan, and China." Lawfare Media, September 3, 2023. https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-state-of-nuclear-instability-in-south-asia-india-pakistan-and-china.

Dexue, Yan. "Economic Cooperation under the Shanghai Cooperation Organization: Achievements and Prospects." China International Studies 88 (2021): 94.

Fair, C. Christine. Fighting to the End: The Pakistan Army’s Way of War. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014.

Farooq Shah, M., and H. U. Khan. "Core member and the success of regional organizations: A study of India’s role in South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation." Policy Research Journal 3, no. 1 (2025): 400-410.

Fawcett, Louise. "Exploring Regional Domains: A Comparative History of Regionalism." International Affairs 80, no. 3 (2004): 429–446.

Ganguly, Šumit. Deadly Impasse: Indo-Pakistani Relations at the Dawn of a New Century. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016.

Giustozzi, Antonio, and Anna Matveeva. "The SCO: A Regional Organisation in the Making." Crisis States Working Papers Series, 2 (2008): 39.

GT Voice: Will India, Pakistan Grasp Chance to Improve Economic Ties at SCO?" Global Times, September 12, 2022. https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202209/1275101.shtml.

Hamanaka, Shintaro. "Inter-Regionalism in the Global South: Comparison with Extra-, Cross-, Trans-, and Pan-Regionalism." Cambridge Review of International Affairs 36, no. 5 (2023): 697–719.

Huaxia. "Xinhua Commentary: SCO Champions Connectivity, Cooperation for Shared Future." English News, July 2, 2024. https://english.news.cn/20240702/5b300166c0074675baea5fb6e53d5187/c.html.

Hussain, Ejaz. "India–Pakistan Relations: Challenges and Opportunities." Journal of Asian Security and International Affairs 6, no. 1 (2019): 82–95.

Jalal, Ayesha. The Sole Spokesman: Jinnah, the Muslim League and the Demand for Pakistan. Vol. 31. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994.

Joobani, Hossein Aghaie. "The Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Light of Organization Theory." 2013.

Khan, Amjad Abbas. "Security Environment in South Asia: The Role of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)." In China and South Asia, 97–107. Routledge India, 2021.

Khan, Hameed Ullah, and Amna Mahmood. "The Stabilizing Role of Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Afghanistan." Central Asia 92 (2023): 1729–9802.

Khan, Hameed Ullah, and Faraz Ali. "The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO's) Role in Stabilizing South Asia." International Journal of Social Sciences Bulletin 3, no. 5 (2025): 736-750.

Khan, Hameed Ullah, Manzoor Khan Afridi, and Shan Zeb. "Installations of the Judicial Setup in the Newly Merged Areas of Erstwhile Fata: The Future of Jirga." ISSRA Papers 16, no. 1 (2024).

Khan, Hameed Ullah, Muhammad Farooq Shah, and Muhammad Ilyas Khan. "Shanghai Cooperation Organization and Afghanistan: Interests and Limitations." Margalla Papers 27, no. 1 (2023): 82–95.

Khan, Hameed Ullah, Shan Zeb, and Mutaseem Billah. "Core Member and the Success of Regional Organizations: A Study of China’s Role in Shanghai Cooperation Organization." Global International Relations Review 4 (2023): 96–112.

Khan, Muhammad Ilyas, Kifayat Ullah, and Subhan Ali. "Role of Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Regional Politics." AJAR| Asian Journal of Academic Research (ISSN: 2790-9379) 3, no. 2 (2022): 77-91.

Kim, Joongi. "Sub-Regionalism, Regionalism, Trans-Regionalism: Implications for Economic Integration and International Trade Policies." Asia Europe Journal 1 (2003): 183–196.

Kizilay, Seyma. "SCO Influence on India-Pakistan Relations." Ankara Center for Crises and Policy Studies, May 31, 2023. https://www.ankasam.org/anka-analizler/sco-influence-on-india-pakistan-relations/?lang=en.

Kumar, Suneel. "Regional Organizations and States in International Relations: A Study of India’s Approach Towards Regional Organizations." Millennial Asia 15, no. 2 (2024): 259–277.

Kupriyanov, Alexei. "The SCO and the Conflict Between India and Pakistan." Observer Research Foundation, December 8, 2020. https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/sco-conflict-between-india-pakistan.

Levesques, Antoine. "India's Fraying Restraint." In Survival: April–May 2024, 63–71. Routledge, 2024.

Lo, Bobo. Global Order in the Shadow of the Superpowers: Russia, China and Eurasia. London: Chatham House, 2019.

Mansfield, Edward D., and Etel Solingen. "Regionalism." Annual Review of Political Science 13, no. 1 (2010): 145–163.

Mearsheimer, John J. "The Inevitable Rivalry: America, China, and the Tragedy of Great-Power Politics." Foreign Affairs 100 (2021): 48.

Mearsheimer, John J. The Tragedy of Great Power Politics. Updated edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2003.

Mehrotra, Abhinav, and Biswanath Gupta. "SCO Summit and Power of India’s Growing Influence." The Daily Guardian (2023).

Middell, Matthias. "Transregional Studies: A New Approach to Global Processes." In The Routledge Handbook of Transregional Studies, 1–16. Routledge, 2018.

Mughal, Farhat Akram. "Pakistan's Membership in Shanghai Cooperation Organisation: Opportunities and Challenges." Journal of the Research Society of Pakistan 58, no. 2 (2021): 16.

Noorani, Ghulam Mustafa, Ms Tooba Aslam Khan, and Hameed Ullah Khan. "The Global Economic Consequences of the Russia-Ukraine War: Implications for Energy, Food Security, Post-COVID Recovery, and Regional Economic Stability." Policy Res. J 2 (2024): 380-390.

Nye, Joseph S. "Power and Interdependence." In World Politics in Transition. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977.

Nye, Joseph S. Jr. The Paradox of American Power: Why the World's Only Superpower Can't Go It Alone. Oxford University Press, 2003.

Panagariya, Arvind. "The Regionalism Debate: An Overview." The World Economy 22, no. 4 (1999): 455–476.

Panjrath, Inderjit. Pakistan's Tactical Nuclear Weapons: Giving the Devil More Than His Due? Vij Books India Pvt Ltd, 2018.

Parveen, Saima. "South Asian Conflicts and Regional Security in the Context of Pakistan-India Relations: A Political Analysis." Regional Lens 2, no. 1 (2023): 1–10.

Peri, Dinakar, and Kallol Bhattacherjee. "Pakistan to Join Closing Ceremony of SCO Anti-Terror Exercise Hosted by India." The Hindu, October 10, 2022. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/pakistan-to-join-closing-ceremony-of-sco-anti-terror-exercise-hosted-by-india/article65993621.ece.

Perkovich, George. India’s Nuclear Bomb: The Impact on Global Proliferation. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999.

Preda, Adrian Eugen. "Shanghai Cooperation Organization: A Defensive Realist Analysis." Analele Universității „Constantin Brâncuși” din Târgu Jiu – Seria Litere și Științe Sociale 02 (2022): 111-120.

Putz, Catherine. "India-Pakistan Tensions Flare Up Within SCO." The Diplomat, March 29, 2023. https://thediplomat.com/2023/03/india-pakistan-tensions-flare-up-within-sco/.

Rauf, Sarwat, and Maira Tariq. "The Bilateral Engagement of India and Pakistan at Shanghai Cooperation Organization: Prospects and Challenges." NUST Journal of International Peace & Stability (2024): 20–33.

Rauf, Sarwat. "Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO): Opportunities for Pakistan." NUST Journal of International Peace & Stability (2019): 16–27.

Raza, Syed Basim. "The SCO Meeting in India: A Chance for India and Pakistan to Turn a New Page?" The Diplomat, April 29, 2023. https://thediplomat.com/2023/04/the-sco-meeting-in-india-a-chance-for-india-and-pakistan-to-turn-a-new-page/.

Rehman, Dr. Muhammad Saif ur. "Significance of Shanghai Cooperation Organization: Pakistan’s Perspective." Margalla Papers (2014).

Ruland, Jurgen. "Inter- and Transregionalism: Remarks on the State of the Art of a New Research Agenda." Made available in DSpace on January 5, 2011. https://hdl.handle.net/123456789.

Saadia, Haleema. "Nuclear Risk Reduction between India and Pakistan." Stimson, May 22, 2014. https://www.stimson.org/2024/nuclear-risk-reduction-between-india-and-pakistan/.

SCO Summit 2021." Sects SCO, September 17, 2021. https://eng.sectsco.org/.

Sethi, Neelam. “The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and India.” Members' Reference Service Larrdis Lok Sabha Secretariat, New Delhi, 2017. https://loksabhadocs.nic.in/Refinput/New_Reference_Notes/English/The_Shanghai_Cooperation_Organization.pdf.

Smith, Dianne L. "Central Asia: A New Great Game?" Asian Affairs: An American Review 23, no. 3 (1996): 147–175.

Spivak, Gayatri Chakravorty. In Other Worlds: Essays in Cultural Politics. Routledge, 2012.

Sufiyanova, Gulnur, and Ekaterina Muslimova. "The Regional World Order. Transregionalism, Regional Integration, and Regional Projects across Europe and Asia: Alexei D. Voskressenski & Boglárka Koller (eds), Lanham, MD & London: Lexington Books, 2019, xiv+ 244pp., £73.00 h/b." (2021): 961–962.

Sugunakararaju, S. R. T. P., and Shabnum Akhtar. "India-Pakistan Relations: Challenges and Opportunities." IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science (IOSR-JHSS) 20, no. 12 (2015): 7–12.

Talbot, Ian. "Partition of India: The Human Dimension: Introduction." Cultural and Social History 6, no. 4 (2009): 403–410.

The U.S. Encourages India and Pakistan to Resolve Their Issues Through Dialogue: Official." The Hindu, April 9, 2024. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/us-encourages-india-and-pakistan-to-resolve-their-issues-through-dialogue-official/article68046202.ece.

Turner, Jefferson E. "What is Driving India's and Pakistan's Interest in Joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization?" Strategic Insights 6, no. 8 (August 2005).

Waggy, Mohmad Maqbool, and Khalid Wasim Hassan. "Antagonistic States in Multilateral Forums: India and Pakistan in SAARC and SCO." Cappadocia Journal of Area Studies 5, no. 2 (2023): 110–126.

Wani, Ayjaz Ahmad. "Decoding India's Priorities at the SCO: Connectivity, Counterterrorism, and Afghanistan." In Decoding India's Priorities at the SCO: Connectivity, Counterterrorism, and Afghanistan. New Delhi, India: Observer Research Foundation, 2023.

Wendt, Alexander. "Anarchy Is What States Make of It: The Social Construction of Power Politics." International Organization 46, no. 2 (1992): 391–425.

Wild, John. "What Is Realism?" The Journal of Philosophy 44, no. 6 (1947): 148–158.

Wohlforth, William C. "Gilpinian Realism and International Relations." International Relations 25, no. 4 (2011): 499–511.

Wolpert, Stanley. Jinnah of Pakistan. New York: Oxford University Press, 1984.

You, Liliang. "Looking at the 'Security Dilemma' between India and Pakistan from Structural Realism." In 3rd International Conference on Economics and Management, Education, Humanities and Social Sciences (EMEHSS 2019), 114–118. Atlantis Press, 2019.