New Delhi, Sept. 4 -- Many analysts describe this alliance as little more than a marriage of convenience. Moscow needs Beijing as a client for its energy and as a political partner against the West; Beijing needs Moscow as a supplier of raw materials and as a strategic shield in its contest with Washington. Yet the underlying interests diverge. Russia fears being reduced to the junior partner in an asymmetric relationship; China has never relinquished its view of Siberia as a natural space for expansion.

The Authoritarian International-or the ODU

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has evolved into far more than a regional forum. It could be described as the "Authoritarian International"; or, more bluntly still, the "ODU: Organi...