IS BRICS CHANGING THE WORLD?

The bloc has elevated the Global South, but the international system remains largely intact

- BY ABDULAZIZ AHMED ALSHEHHI | Special to Gulf News

The goal of the ‘Brics’ (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) strategy is to establish a more equitable international order and reduce the dominance of international institutions currently led by Western countries.

The bloc was born of the belief that the emerging giants like these economies should play a more important role in global governance, the global trade system, and the global financial system.

Despite this, it is unclear if the grouping has altered the system or manufactured a political slogan. Brics has made some acceptable advances, but much of what it seeks to accomplish remains incomplete.

Shifting the conversation around power

Brics has been successful in shifting the conversation around power, representation, and economic governance. The bloc regularly demands reforms to institutions in which developing countries are under-represented, particularly those controlled by the West, including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Brics has enabled the Global South to be heard with greater weight and influence in political processes and has challenged the prevailing unipolar structure of international relations. Significantly, the New Development Bank (NDB) was established in 2015. The goal of the bank was to finance infrastructure and sustainable development projects without imposing the political prerequisites sometimes attached to financing by Western institutions.