A Glimpse on the Plan for the Establishment of an Energy Club in Shanghai Cooperation Organization

Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is a regional organization which was established at the beginning of the third millennium aimed at confidence-building among member countries, struggling against terrorism, religious extremism and separatism as well as confronting the U.S. unilateral hegemony in the international system. Its members are China, Russia, Central Asian countries (except for Turkmenistan). Iran, India, Pakistan and Mongolia have observer status in this organization. As SCO experienced a major dynamism in political, security and economic fields, the idea of establishing an "energy club" aimed at coordinating the policies of supply and demand, ensuring energy supply security, enhancing economic cooperation among member countries and adapting with new developments in the global economy was ratified in 2006 during the summit meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan. This article studies the most important opportunities and challenges facing SCO in realizing the idea of the establishment of an "energy club". The author uses a descriptive-analytical method and draws upon the theories of Cantori and Spiegel and those related to intergovernmentalism and neo-regionalism.