It was assumed that the post 9/11 era would herald a transformation in Central Asian security structures where existing multilateral arrangements with Russia and China would be bypassed in favour of bilateral arrangements with the United States. This would entail a change in the positions of Russia and China as significant partners in multilateral arrangements within the region. The book examines Russian and Chinese interactions over the Central region and the effect of the US presence on this interaction. It begins with an examination of Russian and Chinese positions in Central Asia and then goes on to examine Russo-Sino-US interaction. As an extension of this it examines the positions of transnational organizations in the region. It concludes with an examination of the South Asia and particularly the Indian position in the shaping of an alternative multilateral strategic dialogue for the region. The book argues that cooperation and multilateralism seem to be the watchwords of diplomacy for Eurasian powers in the region and calls for a new look at the nature of the emerging multilateralism in the region.
