In a new post on the Future of Globalisation Blog, Sven Grimm, Head of IDOS’ Programme on Inter- and Transnational Cooperation, looks at the outcome of the Johannesburg BRICS summit of 22-24 August.
The BRICS group – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – invite six countries to join them for a BRICS+. The illustrious list of interested states comprised, inter alia, Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Indonesia, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Nicaragua and Venezuela. It was a difficult choice for a group of already quite wide-ranging political directions, which can be read as a story about interest in the BRICS.
The final list of invitees is an odd bunch: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Iran from the Middle East, Argentina from Latin America and Egypt and Ethiopia from Africa, with the former also being an Arab state. Left-outs among likely candidates were Indonesia and Bangladesh – or any South and Southeast Asian country, for that matter. The decision on specific members came after apparently tough discussions amongst current membership, as interests varied widely.
Sven Grimm asks why (only) these six and what motivates their selection. The club enlargement will add complexity to any internal deliberation of the BRICS+, as our author explains. In a nutshell, the blog explores who is benefitting and how “the West” should react to the new setup.
Please read the blog post here:
The BRICS bang! – Signals from BRICS enlargement to South, West and North
We hope you’ll enjoy this new blog and follow our work on international cooperation, the G20 and our worldwide network of partners.
Kind regards,
Axel Berger, Deputy Director (interim), German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
Sven Grimm, Head of Programme on Inter- and Transnational Cooperation, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)