8 July 2022, NIICE Commentary 8117
Khyati Anand

BRICS is a forum of five countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Among these, Asian countries have great power and representation in the world. India and China have the fastest growing economies, and Russia also possesses crucial resources which can induce changes in the global market. Brazil and South Africa are also a part of the forum but have a comparatively less significant limelight than others. The historic mission of BRICS is to expand a multipolar international order to overcome centuries of underdevelopment and entrenched inequality between the Global North and Global South. Nevertheless, what benefit do Brazil and South Africa have in being members of the group?

BRIC (now BRICS) was an acronym introduced by Jim O’Neil in his study, which emphasized the role of Brazil, Russia, India, and China as developing economies that are predicted to dominate the global economy by 2050. The initial dialogue between RIC, Russia, India, and China began in the early 2000s as the three nations positioned themselves to transition from a unipolar to a multipolar world. The RIC triangle’s main goal was to start a shift in the global economic system that would be more sympathetic to developing nations and address their concerns. This agenda changed to BRIC (currently, BRICS) with the inclusion of Brazil in the forum in 2009, following the publication of Jim O’Neil’s report. Later, to improve the group’s global representation, the BRIC members invited South Africa to join in 2010.

Brazil

Being a member of the BRICS has changed how the world views Brazil, which was previously only considered a Latin American nation. Membership in a forum, which includes excellent powers, allows a country to shed its regional identity and become a part of the larger community. The same was true for Brazil, which was given a chance to interact with the international system more actively due to being a member of the BRICS.

For Brazil, BRICS served three significant functions:

  1. It reinforced its identity as a rising power in economic and political terms.
  2. It catalyzed more robust trade relations with emerging economies.
  3. It provided a safe space for Brazil to interact with China as equals.

The pluralistic BRICS structure perfectly complements Brazil’s strategic outlook for its neighbors and the rest of the world. Brazil has successfully negotiated trade agreements in favor of its national interests in MERCOSUR, thanks to its integration in BRICS, which made it an influential partner. Brazil has more in common with IBSA nations, but the BRICS are also significant because they enable Brazil to interact with China and Russia, two significant global players. Brazil will undoubtedly benefit from the 16 projects the new development bank has approved (many are still pending) for it in various fields, including urban development, transportation, COVID-19, emergency loans, etc.

South Africa 

South Africa’s role in BRICS represents Africa and African interests. It is believed that Africa has resources that will help in the development of BRICS in the future. BRICS is a grouping of global representation, and ignoring an entire continent of developing countries like Africa would not serve its mission. The BRICS nations agreed to invite an African nation, and South Africa was the one that seemed like the perfect fit. Active participation by South Africa in the BRICS was expected to provide the country with an economic boost to help it establish itself on the international stage. In President Zuma’s presence, this milestone of incorporating South Africa into an international forum with the second and fifth economies was achieved.

South Africa’s role remains to carry out Africa’s voice, representing the continent in the group while maintaining its interests. Africa requires funds from BRICS nations for its development and South Africa. The South African economy is not as robust as its counterparts at the BRICS forum. The country has struggled to manage its economy during the pandemic, but despite hurdles, it managed to increase its trade flows with BRICS countries, specifically China. “Over 17% of South Africa’s exports last year went to other BRICS nations, while over 29% of all imports came from these nations. By 2021, trade had increased to 702 billion rands from 487 billion in 2017,” said President Ramaphosa.

A Single Platform, Multiple Interests

Trade and economics are the only factors, till now, that influence interactions between the BRICS nations but all the member nations have different interests. Russia, India, and China have significantly benefited from this platform, which has allowed them to expand their trade with South Africa and Brazil. The five countries benefit from this framework as goods can be imported at comparatively lower prices and sold in each other’s markets. It accomplishes twin goals, one by fostering the growth of the economies in the south and two by maximizing economic gains from trade. Since the BRICS is not a formal organization, it does not influence world affairs and is viewed as short of a strict action plan to impact the world economic system.

However, the Asian powers’ unity in the face of the ongoing crisis makes the grouping pertinent. Maintaining close ties with China and India is strategic for Russia. For China, it is about expanding trade ties with other nations; for India, it is about joining yet another multilateral forum. Brazil wishes to gain international recognition, and South Africa wants to represent African interests and advance the continent’s development.

The 14th BRICS summit was held virtually with China as the host and concluded on June 24th with a joint statement focusing on the critical areas of strengthening global governance, fighting against COVID 19, peace and security, promoting economic recovery, etc. The summit was attended by the leaders of all the countries that are members of the forum. This was the first meeting of BRICS post the Russia-Ukraine war, which has caused a geopolitical shift in the world, causing the formation of solid alliances and leading to a fundamental change in global power politics.

There was discussion regarding the necessity of expanding its membership to reflect contemporary world realities. At first, it was regarded as the voice of the world’s developing nations. However, China and India emerge as the top performing economies, even after the pandemic, with significant potential. This might bring about suspicion in the minds of BRICS partners about China and India’s goals towards the forum.

BRICS plus provides hope for the forum to become an organization with other members representative of the current world realities. Recently, Argentina and Iran have applied to join the forum, and now the BRICS nations will have to change the acronym and define the criteria for inclusion of other members. If the potential of its members is channelized, it has the potential to bring about significant changes in the current economic system.

Khyati Anand is a Research Intern at NIICE.