THE acronym “BRIC”, coined by Goldman Sachs for its own marketing purposes, has evolved over twenty years into a community of the most influential non-Western states. The 2024 BRICS summit hosted by Russia in Kazan was an unqualified success for the Kremlin and a clear indication that Russia’s isolation only works from one side: the West.
The rest of the world sees no point in joining in the policy of pressuring Russia, whether they endorse Russian behaviour in particular cases or not.
But this is not the main significance of the summit. The BRICS (whose membership has grown from Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa to also include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates) is an unusual community that does not bear the hallmarks of a traditional international institution. So far, it is a rather amorphous club with a single unifying principle: creating a space for interaction that bypasses Western states and institutions. An overtly anti-Western policy will not prevail in the BRICS, as the overwhelming majority of states there are not interested in aggravating relations with the West. But they are eager to have different options for building political and economic ties, free of US and EU guidance and mechanisms.
This aspiration reflects objective changes on the world stage. First, the redistribution of potential – demographic, economic, military, and to some extent, technological – is creating the conditions for a shift away from the Western-centric system of world order.
Non-Western countries have become much more confident in demanding change.
Second, the policies of the United States and the European Union, which insist on following their own visions and persecuting dissenters, are provoking rejection almost everywhere outside the Western community. This is not because of attitudes towards Russia, which vary widely outside the West, but because of the principle itself. Ideologically and politically motivated restrictions are perceived by the majority of international actors as an obstacle to normal development.
In this respect, the Kazan forum may be seen as a milestone. BRICS has reached a new level, where a prestigious but rather amorphous club has now become a significant meeting place. It is necessary to be at the table because, firstly, important things are being discussed there and, secondly, a key global trend is taking shape. Namely, an alternative space to the one organized around the institutions (and interests) of the West. In a sense, the main function of BRICS is its status as an anti-monopoly group, ensuring competition by restricting the monopolist, in this case on a global scale.
The fight against cartels is never easy, in any context. It’s a long process, but it has begun and it’s actually developing faster than might have been expected. The conditions have been in place for some time.
So, the main thing about BRICS, no matter how many problems and oddities arise in and around this community, is that it corresponds to the rationale for the development of the global system.
The further development of the BRICS will depend on many circumstances. Not all member states consider their participation in the bloc a priority. However, the general movement towards diversification of the world order and away from any one group’s domination will continue, and the BRICS will play an increasing role in this.
RT, Council of Councils #TheGlobalNewLightOfMyanmar