Anthony Rowley

The View | How the Global South is building a better world, Bric by Bric

If Western countries want to enter the house the Brics nations are building, it would have to be as genuine partners rather than would-be landlords

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(From left) Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Chinese President Xi Jinping, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attend the Brics summit in Johannesburg on August 23, 2023. The expansion of the Brics bloc has raised hopes of its providing an effective counterweight to other multilateral organisations seen as being controlled by the West. Photo: DPA

Anthony Rowley

Published: 4:30pm, 6 Jul 2024

Could it be that a new world political and economic order is being built slowly and stealthily? The Brics grouping – initially comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – is growing from its modest foundations into an entity with more global reach.

Last month, Thailand and Malaysia announced their interest in joining the expanding Brics family. Indonesia is looking into it, and Vietnam has said it is monitoring the expansion with interest. This week, Chinese President Xi Jinping said he supported Kazakhstan joining the grouping. The inclusion of these countries would mark a further and significant stage in what has been the steady expansion of the organisation.

Brazil’s Institute of Applied Economic Research describes Brics as having an “informal character”. “There is no charter, it does not work with a fixed secretariat, nor does it have any funds to finance its activities. Ultimately, what sustains the mechanism is the political will of its members,” it noted.

To some, that might sound too vague to be appealing. What, then, has attracted the interest of countries around Asia and elsewhere? Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates have joined the bloc, and more countries are reportedly waiting in line.

The allure could be seen as a reaction among some countries to attempts by the United States and its allies to herd them into ideologically defined pens. Instead, they would prefer the relative freedom of a non-aligned haven.

Within the Brics framework, they can come together on the issues of their choosing to create a more global voice without feeling pressured by any other country into taking sides. That is a powerful incentive and a facilitator of cooperation at a time when coercion is becoming endemic among global powers.