The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit is being primed by Vladimir Putin to serve as a global platform for his powerful counter-narrative to Western dominance. He is using the occasion to broadcast an alternative vision for international relations to a large and influential audience.
The core of this counter-narrative is that the West, led by the US and EU, is a source of global instability and a “hindrance” to development through its use of “discriminatory sanctions.” This flips the typical Western story on its head.
In its place, he offers a narrative of a rising, cooperative East. This story is centered on the “unprecedented” Russia-China partnership and their promotion of a “fairer, multipolar world order” that respects international law and the sovereignty of all nations.
The Tianjin summit, with leaders from over 30 countries and organizations attending, is the perfect stage for this performance. Putin is seizing the opportunity to move his narrative from the margins to the mainstream, challenging the West’s version of reality and competing for the hearts and minds of the developing world.