SCO, Eurasia, and New Human Civilization

Eurasia, the cradle of human civilization, is a diverse region in every aspect. It is home to numerous cultures, living philosophies, economic development models, environments, diplomacy, and people with diverse beliefs, habits, and attitudes, as well as countries with different boundaries, resources, and nationalities. It is the birthplace of many prominent civilizations, including Egyptian, Greek, Chinese, Arab, Turkish, and Russian, as well as leading religions such as Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism, which emerged from the region. Eurasia has contributed decisively to the modernization of human civilization. The heartland, Central Asia, served as a trade hub and a center for knowledge and cultural exchange for centuries. The region has also been shaped by geopolitics, conflicts, and wars because of its importance in the global order.

In the post-Westphalian order, nation-states and civilizational superiority complexes became the new turf of geopolitics. Big powers continue to exploit the region through continuous conflicts, division, proxies, etc. Many factors drive exploitation, but the most prominent are a lack of unity, a lack of representative organization, and a civilizational superiority complex among regional civilizations. Global powers used these elements to fuel conflicts and pit countries against each other, and the trend continues. As a result, the region remains home to many outstanding conflicts, including Palestine and Kashmir, etc., and problems like higher incidents of poverty and food insecurity, among other problems.

Geopolitics intensified and emerged in new forms after the fall of the USSR. It provided an opportunity for external forces to play their games in the region. A race started to lead or dominate the region and define the rules of business in the emerging multipolar world. The race is becoming more complex as major powers intensify their efforts to consolidate their positions or dominate the region. In this context, a representative organization for the region is strongly justified and needed to protect people’s interests and bring sustainable peace and prosperity.

Given the current situation and dynamics, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) can serve as a representative organization because of its philosophy and spirit: the Shanghai Spirit and its practical demonstration. The Shanghai Spirit can help address the challenges the Eurasian region faces. Shanghai Spirit is composed of six values or concepts. First, it calls for mutual trust to build relations. Mutual trust can be built only through mutual respect. Mutual respect denounces nations’ superiority complexes and brings them closer to pursuing the common goal of peace and prosperity. Second, it promotes equality and highlights that everyone is equally respectable, regardless of development status or military might. It will lead to peaceful coexistence. Third, mutually beneficial cooperation will pave the way for win-win cooperation. It will help to tackle challenges such as development deficit, poverty, and food insecurity, among others. Fourth, consultation will help integrate all voices and find an acceptable solution. Fifth, common development is a key area that can help countries come together to solve their problems and contribute to the region’s development.

Sixth, however, the most important element of the Shanghai Spirit is respect for diverse civilizations. It promotes the idea that each civilization is beautiful and unique in its own sense. It emphasizes the importance of every civilization and believes each has contributed to humanity’s development. This view is extremely important in the context of the prevailing theory of the Clash of Civilizations.

The SCO is not only preaching the Shanghai Spirit, but also implementing it in practice. For example, big countries in the SCO do not dictate to small countries to follow them or act as a rubber stamp or serve big countries’ interests. Rather, big and developed countries support smaller, less developed countries. For example, China has launched three special corridors under the BRI for the SCO members. China has also established a specialized free trade zone and six centers, i.e., energy, green energy, digital economy, higher education, scientific and innovation, and technical and vocational training, for the SCO countries.

Meanwhile, the SCO includes members from diverse civilizations: Chinese, Russian, Indus, Iranian, and Central Asian. The SCO does not allow member civilizations to bring their prejudices or superiority or inferiority complexes, if any, into the organization. The SCO urges them to coexist in the true spirit of coexistence; rather, they cooperate in common areas. Moreover, the SCO encourages all civilizations to learn from each other for the betterment of humanity. It encourages members to explore the role of civilizational wisdom in advancing humanity and to continue that spirit at the SCO. The strong belief in civilizational diversity, wisdom, and contribution to human modernization gives the SCO a unique identity, the identity of a civilizational organization.

In a nutshell, the SCO promotes a new culture that advances peaceful coexistence and sustainable development for everyone, without prejudice against any civilization or nation. It believes each civilization is contributing to modernizing human civilization or creating a new human civilization. A human civilization that believes in cooperative coexistence, common prosperity, and a community with a shared future to create a common destiny for humanity. Therefore, the success of the SCO will be a leap forward in modernizing human civilization and creating a new human civilization.

However, every leap forward in human civilization comes with intellectual transformation. In the words of President Xi, “Every major leap forward in human society and every major development of human civilization cannot be separated from intellectual transformation. The same intellectual transformation is required to convince all Eurasian countries to gather around the SCO and turn it into a representative organization of the region.

Intellectual transformation requires comprehensive policy, action, and movement. This is where intellectuals, academia, experts, think tanks, and researchers come in: they must lead this intellectual transformation. We can learn from China how it is cultivating intellectual transformation to modernize human civilization and create a new human civilization.

In conclusion, the SCO can become a representative organization of Eurasia, but it needs intellectual transformation. A transformation that can dispel the bad memories of the past and cultivate a new generation of humanity that believes in the common destiny of humanity.