The Interconnection of Global and Regional Security Systems: the Case of the United Nations, the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
This article studies the interconnection of global and regional security systems using the example of the interaction of the United Nations (UN) with the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). According to the author, their activity is underestimated. These organizations appeared in the wake of the emergence of a pool of regional associations of countries that have become involved in security and peacekeeping activities. Both associations have a similar composition of members, were established after the collapse of the USSR, are observers in the UN, are engaged in security as one of their key activities, and have similar functions. The CSTO and the SCO prevented new conflicts from breaking out in the post-Soviet space by acting as stabilizing forces within the borders of their regions and the participating states. This study's relevance is underscored first, by the special role that regional organizations play in building and operating a global security system; second, by the lack of existing research focused on the interaction of the UN with the CSTO and the SCO; and third, by the need to improve the collective mechanisms for responding to new security threats which become intertwined with existing challenges. The theory of military-political alliances provides the analytical basis of this research. The article uses quantitative and qualitative methods, including analysis of United Nations documents. The interconnection between the UN, SCO and CSTO is analyzed by counting the number of times the keywords “CSTO” and “SCO” appear in UN documents and defining the context of their use over a period of 15 (from 2002 to 2017) and 16 years (from 2001 to 2017) respectively. An extensive database of UN documents was available from the United Nations Bibliographic Information System (UNBISNET). Based on this analysis, an assessment is made of the contribution and interest of the Russian Federation as a leading player in international relations in the process of strengthening the interconnection of global and regional security systems.