Opinion: Will BRICS be a problem of plenty?

The foundation of India’s foreign policy was laid by first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru as non-alignment but the present dispensation stresses multi-alignment

By Nripendra Abhishek Nrip

BRICS was formed at a time when the world was being viewed from a new geopolitical perspective. Due to economic progress, many countries were emerging rapidly. They not only wanted their share in economic development but also wanted to play an important role in world politics.

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This year, the BRICS summit took place in Johannesburg, South Africa, from August 22 to August 24. This is the first time after the pandemic that the summit was held in person. The gathering marked an important moment in international diplomacy as discussions took place regarding the strengthening of political and economic influence within the developing world. The theme of the 15th BRICS Summit was ‘BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development and Inclusive Multilateralism’.

Expansion of Bloc

The summit was organised with the aim of increasing the number of member countries. This was achieved too with the addition of six new members to the bloc. The new strength of BRICS has now increased from five to 11, signifying a solid effort towards improving its global status.

With the joining of Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia and Argentina, representation of the Middle East, Africa and South America has increased significantly. Their full membership will be effective from January 1, 2024. Founding member countries include Brazil, Russia, India and China.

South Africa joined subsequently. These five developing countries represent 41 per cent of the world’s population, 24 per cent of global GDP and 16 per cent of global trade.

The BRICS expansion is also being seen as a competition to the G7 grouping since these countries have the world’s largest economies. Analysts believe the bloc could exacerbate geopolitical problems in an attempt to restore global balance, as both Russia and China seek to sway it to their side and have tensions with the West.

India played a key role in drafting the membership criteria of the organisation and promoting strategic partnerships among the new entrants. Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed to set up BRICS Space Exploration Association to further strengthen cooperation in the field of space technology and research. India called for the cooperation of BRICS countries under the International Big Cat Alliance for the protection of endangered big cats.

Challenges Galore

Though BRICS has expanded, there are many questions that need to be answered. The biggest question arises about the rules of the new member countries because there is no one rule. There is no formal way to join BRICS. Neither countries have to make any written application, nor do they have to fulfil any specific conditions. After that, will the expanded group live up to the expectations just by increasing the numerical strength? Will the addition of some more geopolitical rivals along with countries already standing on different axes really strengthen the grouping? Will the relations of new member countries with the old members not affect the basic spirit of the group? Will the group remain entangled in factionalism? These and many others need to be answered in the days to come.

In Western countries, BRICS is seen as an organisation that is challenging their alliances. But, the biggest weakness of BRICS is the lack of shared values among them. Everyone wants to use it for their own benefit. The deteriorating relations between India and China have weakened the bloc further. If the BRICS countries have to compete with western countries, then they will also have to work on reducing mutual differences.

Role of India

India will have to make efforts to ensure its role remains important in the expanded bloc to keep China at bay. China does not need to preserve the exclusiveness of the conglomerate to maintain its global position. China has integrated new members over the years and attempted to transform the bloc into a China-led coalition. Since 2017, when it introduced the ‘BRICS Plus’ concept, Beijing has sought to expand the agenda. Following the invasion of Ukraine, Russia has also become keenly interested in expansion as it could help build a Russia-sympathetic bloc to counter Western efforts to isolate the country.

India is looking after its own interests as well as the interests of other countries that have been given membership because all of them are emerging economies. All have the potential to play an active role in peace and economic development in the world. India wants the development of BRICS, but the development of BRICS should not be against any particular group.

India fears that China wants to make it a platform for its influence through expansion. Brazil also says it does not want to make BRICS a G7, G20 or an anti-American organisation. It is believed that to reduce the impact of the dollar, China is also emphasising on the local currency of BRICS. So, are Russia and China looking at this as building a platform against the US? And what role can India play in this so that China does not make it an anti-American bloc? On this question too, India will have to expand its policies after careful thinking.

The foundation of India’s foreign policy was laid by the first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru as non-alignment, meaning India will not join any faction. However, currently, India’s Foreign Minister is referring to this non-alignment as multi-alignment, which means that India will not align with any one group but will align with all groups according to its interests.