PAKISTAN’S MEMBERSHIP OF SHANGHAI COOPERATION ORGANISATION: OPPORTUNITIES AND SCOPE FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Abstract

The dissertation seeks to answer how Pakistan can effectively use public diplomacy to enhance its bilateral and multilateral relations with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and member states. It analyses the value of public diplomacy at the state, organizational and multilateral levels while keeping in mind Pakistan‘s strategic, security, and economic interests in Central Asia. The transformations in the digital age and the geopolitical landscape, especially in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist events, have altered the way nation states operate in a complex interdependent global political system. As against traditional diplomacy conducted by states at the international level, public diplomacy is an innovative concept that offers governments‘ new ways to build strong public and cultural bonds with the outside world. Apart from states, multilateral organizations also use public diplomacy to promote their values and cultures to the concerned public audiences. The complexity of the effectively using public diplomacy for the states and the multilateral organizations has been examined through the complex interdependence, soft power, and various public diplomacy frameworks. Pakistan joined the SCO in 2005 as an observer and, in 2017, was inducted as a permanent member country. It has been able to promote its relations with other SCO permanent members, especially China, Russia, India, and the Central Asian Republics, in the realm of strategic, security, and economic spheres. At the same time, the SCO membership provides it the opportunity to build strong people-to-people or cultural bonds at the organizational level and in bilateral ties with the member-states. The SCO itself is focused on enhancing its public diplomacy capacity, which complements Pakistan‘s public diplomacy efforts. Therefore, besides highlighting the significance of public diplomacy for Pakistan in the context of the SCO, the study presents a critical review of the enabling factors of public diplomacy for Pakistan and the SCO as well as the efforts made so far in this regard at both bilateral and organizational levels. It concludes by narrating the way forward for both Pakistan and the SCO to conduct public diplomacy in ways that complement their mutually inclusive interests in strategic, security economic, and cultural spheres.