Looking north : Central Asia and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

Analysis of the nascent international agency of regional powers that have global intentions has become a topic of growing significance in the study of world affairs - a development facilitated by the break-up of the Cold War order, which has allowed a number of actors to extend their international roles and outreach. India features prominently among those actors and its agency in global life is subject to growing public, policy and scholarly scrutiny. Its relations with Central Asia contributed to this increasing interest in the practices of India's 'enlightened selfinterest' in its extended neighbourhood.