Russia

The emergence of BRICS is a reflection of the economic power shift from the north to the south. BRICS cooperation is driven by their shared identity as emerging economies. BRICS will play a bigger role in reshaping the world economic order through reform of the existing international institutions and within the framework of G20. It is in no way aimed at toppling the existing world order or forming an anti-West bloc.

• Li Li
• November 2019
• Strategic Analysis

The article explores America’s evolving policy towards BRICS in the context of the Trump administration’s new ‘America First’ global strategy. Even though the BRICS grouping has not become an anti-systemic or anti-liberal force, its attempts to form an alternative centre of global power has prompted the US to manage multipolarity. The Trump administration has continued America’s previous policies of hedging potential BRICS consolidation and enhancing its regional engagement in the era of sovereignty revivalism and deglobalisation.

• Vitaly Kozyrev
• November 2019
• Strategic Analysis

This article builds on extensive debates on the role of BRICS in world order. But instead of focusing on BRICS’ impact on the world order, the article takes a different methodological approach. It traces how much the evolution of BRICS’ rational was prompted by changes of the international system and Russia’s and China’s grand strategies. The key finding is that the BRICS does not determine major world developments, but acclimatizes to the evolving international situation.

• Igor Denisov , Andrei Kazantsev , Fyodor Lukyanov , Ivan Safranchuk
• November 2019
• Strategic Analysis

Given complexities currently underpinning multipolar realities of the international system, it seems that a pluralist internationalism is becoming a strategic consideration for a post-Western world order. This warrants new agendas for cooperation. Based on the latter this analysis examines to what extent the BRICS can articulate such a new agenda based on a South African-informed perspective. This involves exploring the basis of a BRICS-African agenda competing with the geo-political interests of sub-groupings such as the SCO, RIC, and the EAEU.

• Francis A. Kornegay , Sanusha Naidu
• November 2019
• Strategic Analysis

The BRICS are at a turbulent crossroads as renewed great power competition intersects with countervailing tendencies in the emerging multipolar arena. Their success depends avoiding the external costs and domestic pathologies generated by great power friction. Emerging multipolarity provides opportunities for manoeuvre, but only if outsized China accommodates the other BRICS as it competes against the United States. The BRICS’ strongest common aversion concerns American hegemony and its weaponization of finance.

• Cynthia Roberts
• November 2019
• Strategic Analysis

This article studies China’s approach to BRICS. It argues that China sees BRICS as a major asset in its effort to become a major world power and to reform the international system so that it becomes fairer and better serve its interests. However, in China’s view, these interests coincide with the interests of other major non-Western states which also suffer from this sense of unfairness, therefore this position is not self-seeking. This is a major problem which should be overcome with the help of other developing countries.

• Alexander Lukin , Fan Xuesong
• November 2019
• Strategic Analysis

The article outlines four types of globalism contending for hegemony today. The struggle of what effectively represents different types of international order is one reason why international politics today looks so disordered. The BRICS association is firmly located as part of one of these orders, that of sovereign internationalism, but is challenged by the disruptive implications of the Trumpian mercantilist order. BRICS and its members as a result are drawing closer to the liberal internationalist model.

• Richard Sakwa
• November 2019
• Strategic Analysis

Russia India and China are paying more and more attention to international security issues. They have developed a broad common security agenda via cooperation through two international institutions created by them. BRICS serve as a mechanism for promoting their economic security interests, SCO is focused on traditional security issues. Along with forming a common position on main international security problems, Russia, India and China act as great powers and disagree on certain security matters mostly of regional and bilateral nature.

• Maxim Bratersky , Georgy Kutyrev
• November 2019
• Strategic Analysis

This article examines the evolution of Russia’s policy towards BRICS from the time of its formation as a group of four countries in 2006 to the present. The authors analyse the main political objectives that guided Moscow in initiating the creation of this format and in developing it in subsequent years. The article argues that, with Russia as a participant, the character of the organization has undergone major changes, due both to the changing international situation and fundamental changes that the foreign policy of Russia itself has undergone since 2014.

• Dmitry Novikov , Andrei Skriba
• November 2019
• Strategic Analysis

Belarus has successfully pursued a multi-vector foreign policy and is seeking to play a significant role to strengthen peace and stability in the region.

• Manabhanjan Meher
• April 04, 2019
• Backgrounder