Regional integration in Central Asia in the shadow of Sino-Russian rivalry

The main objective of this paper is to answer if the institutional setting in Central Asia, created after the end of the Cold War, is supportive more of Russian or Chinese interests, as well as investigating how the complimentary and conflicting interests of Russia and China influence this institutional setting. In this research, we adopted both neoliberal institutionalism and neorealism paradigms as the theoretical setting. Additionally, A. F. K. Organski’s Power Transition Theory was challenged to analyze the studied problem and to evaluate the ongoing changes in the regional system. The empirical study, referring to the following regional organizations: the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the Eurasian Economic Union and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization analyzed on the basis of two selected theoretical paradigms proved that regional institutions are supportive both to China and Russia, with a gradual transition from Russian-dominated institutions to a more active role of China in regional settings due to the rising aggregated power of the PRC. Additionally, the analyzed institutions are underperforming due to a lack of political autonomy, as states still play a dominant role in regional institutionalization.