By Professor Anil Sooklal
In the ever-evolving and fluid geopolitical landscape, the rise of emerging markets and developing countries over the past three decades has become a transformative force, reshaping the dynamics of the international new world order.
The rise can be traced back to the economic and political changes that took place in the 1990s. In the aftermath of the Cold War, liberalisation, deregulation, and market-oriented reforms became the prevailing trend across the world. One of the consequences of these changes was that it unlocked the global south’s immense growth potential, positioning the global south as a significant geopolitical and economic force globally.
It is within this context that a number of mini-lateral organisations were formed. An example was the emergence of the G20 following the Asian financial crisis of 1997/1998 at the level of Finance Ministers and was elevated to summit level (Heads of State and Government) following the 2008 global financial crisis. The G20 brought together major economies of both the global north and south as the apex body seeking to address the geo-economic and financial fault lines. However, at the forefront of transformation was the establishment of the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China), conceptualised in 2006 when the foreign ministers of Brazil, Russia, India, and China met in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
The first formal BRIC meeting then took place in Russia in 2009 at summit level. South Africa was invited to join the group in 2010 at the invitation of China to attend the 3rd BRICS summit in Sanya, China, in March 2011, thereby changing the acronym to “BRICS.” The purpose of South Africa’s invitation was to give impetus to the spirit of BRICS as a voice of some of the most powerful countries of the South. South Africa’s entry, therefore, gave representation and a voice to Africa within BRICS. Thus, South Africa became the first beneficiary of expansion - from BRIC to BRICS.
BRICS today is a collective that has, over the past decade, defied conventional wisdom, reinforced multilateralism, and the traditional geopolitical and economic alliances propelling it to the forefront of global political, economic, environmental, and financial affairs. The main reason behind the establishment of BRICS was the shared vision of BRICS as well as other emerging market and developing economies that, through its collective voice and coordinated action on the global front, they could significantly influence the call for the reform of the global governance architecture, which is out of sync of the current global realities.
Since the end of World War Two in 1945, there has been no reform nor transformation of global governance, including the economic, trade and financial architecture. To echo the words of the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who recently noted that the UN Security Council and Bretton Woods Institutions need real reform. He further indicated that these institutions are unrepresentative, outdated and irrelevant.
These views re-affirm the position of BRICS over the past decade and half that they remain archaic, biased, unfair, unrepresentative and exclusivist in favour of the global north, despite the world having changed in almost every respect, including the political and economic rise of the global south. China's ascent to becoming the world’s second-largest economy and India’s rise to being the 5th largest economy today is perhaps the most striking example of this changing global order.
The establishment of BRICS has provided a platform for them to consolidate their economic clout and lobby for a more equitable, just and inclusive economic and financial architecture. BRICS also set out as an objective the reform of the global governance architecture, especially the reform of the UN and its Security Council.
BRICS, by harnessing its collective strengths and leveraging common interests, continues to challenge the dominance of traditional powers, promote multi-polarity, and advocate for a more equitable and inclusive global political, economic, and financial order.While actively calling for the reform of the geo-political and financial architecture, they also established initiatives such as the New Development Bank (NDB) and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA). BRICS has also set in motion the use of local currencies in its trade and financial transactions. This seeks to give greater financial independence to BRICS and transform global trading and payment systems away from a mono-centric currency world.
Having due regard for the above, the original core purpose of BRICS remains intact, but it also continues to evolve, reflective of the fluid and ever-changing geopolitical and economic landscape. The current geopolitical landscape is ambiguous, uncertain, unpredictable, and volatile, and BRICS is seen as providing leadership and direction moving towards a multi-polar, multi-cultural and multi-civilisational world devoid of hegemonic domination by any singular country.
Today’s extremely complex world requires collective and coordinated action to address the multi-dimensional challenges, which include, but are not limited to: the rise in violent extremism and terrorism, religious fundamentalism, right-wing populism, narrow nationalism, racism, xenophobia, climate change, food, energy and water insecurity, internal and regional conflict, war, inequality, poverty and unemployment.
We are also witnessing a shift in some regional and global geopolitical alliances that is having a transformational impact on the global landscape. For example, there is a quiet but tectonic geopolitical shift taking place within the Middle East in which Saudi Arabia and Iran have witnessed rapprochement in their relations and which has had a positive impact on the region as a whole. It is evident that BRICS’ commitment to addressing global conflicts through negotiations and diplomatic means while rejecting unilateral actions has witnessed success in the Middle East region, with China and Russia playing a seminal role. In addition, the Russia/Ukraine situation has seen endeavours by BRICS countries to seek a peaceful solution to the conflict. This includes initiatives by China, India, Brazil and South Africa, together with several African countries.
Over the past decade and-a-half, BRICS has remained consistent in its call for a more inclusive, equitable and representative global order. This has found resonance with the global South, as demonstrated by over 20 countries who have applied to become full members of BRICS.
This is a clear demonstration of the global South’s faith in the leadership being provided by BRICS at this crucial and critical juncture of history. It is within this context that the 15th BRICS ( Heads of States and Government ) Summit will be hosted by South Africa in August in Johannesburg, followed by a meeting between BRICS leaders and leaders of the continent and broader Global South. This provides an opportunity for the Global South to collectively demonstrate its determination to shape a new world order where none is left behind.
Professor Anil Sooklal is South Africa’s Ambassador at Large for Asia and BRICS Sherpa.
The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Independent Media or IOL.