Comparative Analysis of NATO and Shanghai Cooperation Organization Behavior in Central Asia From 2001 to 2012

The series of developments in the world since the events of 9/11 has given a new geostrategic significance   to  the  Central  Asian  region.  NATO's  presence  in Afghanistan and US strategy change from "energy security" to "counter-terrorism" strategy  in  the  peripheral  environment  of  Central  Asia  and  work  on  various military  and  operational  policy  areas  in  the  region  within  the  framework  of  a comprehensive  "cooperative  security"  theory. Involvement  of the  Shanghai Cooperation Organization and new Coalition in Neo-Regionalism Theory against NATO's influence on the region shows the importance of the Central Asian region in the politics of the important players of these two organizations ; the US, Russia and China in the first decade of the current century. This article attempts to answer this question by using a comparative descriptive approach on how to study and compare   the   security   policies   of   NATO   and   the   Shanghai   Cooperation Organization in the Central Asian region. The findings of this article indicate that over the past decade, the members of the two organizations have shared interests in issues such as Afghanistan's stability, counter-narcotics trafficking, terrorism as part of  NATO-Russia partnership  mechanisms  and  the  Russian-NATO  Council have organized it. This subject organization throughout the region had a mostly tactical level. But despite the common threats posed by the two organizations to strategic issues such as long-term US acceptance in the region, NATO expansion to  the  east,  and  security  of  energy  routes,  there  are  differences  of  interest. Meanwhile, factors such as the impact of NATO's relations with Central Asian countries on Russia's and Russia's regional policies, the conflicting goals of the major  players  and  the  lack  of  a  comprehensive  co-operation  between  the  two organizations have exacerbated the differences.

Keywords:
NATO, Co-operative Security, Shanghai Cooperation, Neo-regionalism and Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure.