Rajorshi Roy replies: The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) has emerged as a prominent Eurasian organisation in the last few years. Today, it has expanded in geographical reach, scope and importance. Along with its eight full members as well as dialogue and observer partners, SCO today straddles Central, South, West and North Asia. This makes it one of the world’s largest pan-regional organisations. SCO’s growing heft is reflected in it contributing 30 per cent of the global GDP and 40 percent of the world’s population.

Prashant Kumar Singh replies: The idea of the ‘Asian Century’ argues that the 21st century international order is going to be defined by Asia’s pre-eminence, the way the US pre-eminence defined the international order in the 20th century and Europe in the 19th century. It is also seen as Asian countries’ mutual rediscovery in terms of reconnection and reintegration. It seeks to repair artificial divisions in the Asian social, economic and cultural space that colonial interventions created.

Ruchita Beri replies: The Asia Africa Growth Corridor (AAGC) is one of the initiatives launched by India in recent years, to enhance cooperation with African countries in partnership with Japan. The AAGC vision document was released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the African Development Bank (AfDB) Annual Meeting in Gandhinagar, Gujarat on 23 May 2017. The main objective of the corridor is to enhance growth and connectivity between Asia and Africa.

Ashok Kumar Behuria replies: The Russia–Ukraine crisis does not necessarily negate the concept of multipolarity as much as perceived bipolarity because of ongoing competition between the United States (US) and China for global influence, if not leadership. However, it has certainly shattered the hopes of multipolarity as an essential condition for peace and prosperity in the world.

S. Kalyanaraman replies: ‘Strategic Balance’ is another term for the traditional concept of ‘balance of power’. It refers to the relative hard power capabilities (economic, military, nuclear, technological) that State A possesses vis-à-vis its competitor or competitors. The balance of relative hard power between State A and its competitor or competitors may be in A’s favour, or in the favour of its competitor or competitors singly or together, or be more or less equal between/among them.