The SCO’s Expanding Mandate: From Regional Security to Global Reform

Vladimir Putin is pushing for a significant expansion of the SCO’s mandate, seeking to transform it from a body focused on regional security into a major force for global reform. His agenda for the Tianjin summit aims to equip the organization with a new, ambitious global mission.
Originally founded to address border disputes and terrorism in Central Asia, the SCO is now being tasked by Putin to tackle the world’s most “pressing global challenges.” This includes confronting the “discriminatory sanctions” of the West and leading the charge for a “fairer, multipolar world order.”
This expanded mandate involves creating a new security architecture for the entire Eurasian continent and acting as a hub for a de-dollarized, integrated economic zone. Putin sees the SCO as the institutional backbone for a new, non-Western-centric world.
By rallying leaders from across Asia to this cause, Putin is attempting to give the SCO the political weight and sense of purpose needed to fulfill this new role. The summit will be a test of whether the other members are ready to embrace this far more assertive and ambitious global mandate.