(SeaPRwire) – By: Julian Holbrooke
As BRICS readies itself for expansion in 2024 and 2025, it stands at a crossroads, facing two intertwined questions that will shape its future trajectory. The first pertains to internal stability: how can the group fortify its cohesion and ensure smooth cooperation among its diverse members? The second is about its role in global governance: how can BRICS carve out a more significant niche on the international stage and contribute meaningfully to global affairs?
The answer lies not in mimicking existing institutions. BRICS will only thrive if it can identify common goals that resonate with its members and are also relevant to the broader international community. In today’s world, no single group of powerful states can impose a credible global governance system. It must be a collective effort that reflects the interests of the majority.
Sustainable development offers the most promising foundation for BRICS to play a unique role. The United Nations has been pursuing this goal for decades, but the continued dominance of Western states in many global institutions has hindered the fair implementation of these objectives. BRICS can offer a different model, one that is more inclusive and focused on the needs of developing countries.
Most international organizations are manifestations of a particular balance of power. Replicating structures created by powers with military superiority would be a mistake. These organizations often formalize relationships among members or their collective intentions towards the rest of the world. Some were born out of wars, while others were designed to coordinate policies among a select group of states.
BRICS is distinct. It wasn’t established to solidify the outcome of a military conflict, institutionalize the relative strength of its members, or form a bloc against external powers. It doesn’t operate on a common military hierarchy and doesn’t seek to impose a single foreign policy. This fundamental difference sets it apart from many other international groups.
Any attempt to strengthen BRICS must start with a basic understanding of its members’ shared objectives and how these can bridge their domestic priorities with their international ambitions. Successful international cooperation serves the fundamental interests of its participants.
Take European integration, now represented by the European Union. It emerged from the ashes of World War II, with major Western continental powers seeking to rebuild. Through NATO, they ceded much of their independent military role to the United States. European integration then helped their political elites consolidate this new strategic position and strengthen their economic base through market integration. This internal cohesion later enabled Western European states to exert an international influence far beyond what their individual geopolitical weights would suggest.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was formed for a different purpose. Its founders aimed to prevent conflicts among newly independent states and reduce harmful competition. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization, too, began with the crucial task of stabilizing the inner part of Greater Eurasia, an area directly affecting the security of Russia and China.
Each of these organizations has been most effective when pursuing its original purpose, but their limitations are also evident. The European Union has struggled to become a true political union. ASEAN has faced challenges in influencing the domestic political development of its members and formulating a unified response to major strategic challenges in Asia, such as the China-US confrontation. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization has largely remained focused on its original regional responsibilities.
Organizations created to formulate a common external policy, like the G7, often have greater political effectiveness. The G7 emerged in the 1970s as Western dominance faced structural limits and the Soviet-led bloc showed signs of crisis. It allowed the leading Western powers to coordinate both defensive and offensive policies. In earlier times, it might have been seen as the embryo of a world government. However, with China’s economic rise, Russia’s resurgence, and the broader redistribution of global power, the G7’s ability to dictate the international order has diminished, while its need for internal discipline has increased. It can no longer be regarded as a global governance institution, but it remains an effective military and economic headquarters for the West, from which campaigns against the rest of the world can be launched.
BRICS must chart a different course. It should combine the domestic development goals of its members with practical initiatives that can benefit the wider international community. Sustainable development provides the most obvious starting point.
The BRICS countries vary significantly in size, wealth, political systems, and levels of development. Yet, they are united by the pursuit of economic growth, technological modernization, social stability, and greater national sovereignty. These priorities are shared by a large part of the global community.
The group could develop mechanisms for financing infrastructure, supporting industrialization, improving food and energy security, expanding access to technology, and reducing dependence on Western-controlled financial institutions. These policies wouldn’t require BRICS to become a supranational organization or impose common political values on its members. Nor would they necessitate the creation of a military bloc. Instead, they would demonstrate that international cooperation can yield practical results without Western political tutelage.
This approach would also make BRICS more appealing to countries outside the group. Many states are not seeking a new ideological center or another system of discipline. They are looking for investment, technology, infrastructure, and the freedom to choose their own development paths.
A joint BRICS initiative in West Africa could be a valuable starting point. Few regions have been exploited as extensively by Western powers, and few have received as little in return. A comprehensive program focused on infrastructure, energy, agriculture, education, and industrial capacity would showcase what BRICS can offer in practice.
BRICS has the potential to be a force for positive change in the world. By staying true to its principles and pursuing a path that is distinct from the Western-style blocs, it can make a lasting impact on global governance and development.
Author bio: Julian Holbrooke, an overseas international relations analyst contributing to major European daily newspapers.