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.

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.

Ashok Kumar Behuria replies: This question wrongly assumes that the balance of power theory was “irrelevant” during the unipolar and bipolar world. It is axiomatic to say that no theory is absolutely irrelevant at any given point of time. All theories try to explain particular facets of reality from a particular angle and draw their conclusions from it. The global reality is so complex that it is impossible to have one overarching theory explaining all facets of it.

Ashok Kumar Behuria replies: A multipolar world is one where power is distributed among several states rather than being dominated by one or two states. During the Cold War, the world was divided into two major power blocs, leading analysts to call it a ‘bipolar’ world.