Soft Power through Exclusion: India’s Veto on Azerbaijan in the SCO and its Message to Central Asia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55829/c0rrvm67Keywords:
soft power, India, SCO, Azerbaijan, Central Asia, consensus, veto, regional securityAbstract
On the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tianjin on September 1–2, 2025, a number of media outlets reported that India had blocked Azerbaijan’s bid for full membership. This event sparked active discussions among analysts and experts on international relations. Rather than direct forms of pressure or forceful confrontation, India’s decision was perceived as a demonstration of “soft power through exclusion,” a way to set red lines, protect its own interests, and simultaneously send a message to regional partners without open confrontation. This text examines how the SCO expansion mechanism works, why New Delhi is resorting to such an instrument now, and what message it sends to Central Asian countries regarding security, infrastructural connectivity, and the balance of power in Eurasia. The expansion of the SCO has always been seen as an important indicator of the changing balance of power in Eurasia. The accession of India and Pakistan in 2017, and Iran and Belarus in 2023–24, showed that the organization is moving beyond its Central Asian core and becoming a platform for great power rivalry. At the same time, the consensus mechanism turns any decision to admit new members into a test of the sustainability of unity. The news that India blocked Azerbaijan’s application allows us to consider the phenomenon of “soft power by exception,” when a state uses built-in institutional rules to advance its own norms. The question is why India exercised this right in 2025, and what does this mean for Central Asia?
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