ABSTRACT
After the Cold War was won, the United States (US) clearly became the dominant power in the international system, having the largest economy, richest people, most powerful military machine, and with reserves of soft power. The Peoples Republic of China was initially identified by the George W. Bush administration as the most serious threat to US hegemony. The Shanghai Group was established in 1996 by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. It started more to create better relations between Russia and China and resolve border issues in Central Asia, than to confront the US. The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation brings together a number of powerful states with different reasons for opposing the dominance of the US in Mackinder's Eurasian heartland: China, Russia, India, Pakistan and Iran. In 2005, Iran and India signed a $22 billion deal for Tehran to supply five million tonnes of gas a year to India.
