The BRICS countries as a geopolitical counterweight?

BRICS is the name of the informal alliance of five emerging economies that are demanding more say in the International Monetary Fund and the United Nations. Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (archive image) want to become the antithesis of the G7 and are therefore looking for new alliances and more political weight. The next BRICS summit will be held in South Africa from 22 to 24 August.

The five emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – also known by the abbreviation BRICS – have set themselves the goal of putting an end to the “diktat” of the West under the leadership of the United States. To this end, they want to expand massively and attract more states. This is to be achieved at the summit in South Africa on Tuesday and Wednesday.

More than 30 countries have confirmed their participation in the BRICS summit. 67 high-level politicians from Africa and the Global South have been invited, as well as 20 international representatives, including the United Nations, the African Union and Africa’s regional economic communities.

Only one guest was rejected: French President Emmanuel Macron had expressed interest in attending the summit – but did not receive an invitation. Former colonial rulers and Western industrial powers are not welcome.

Dozens of countries show interest

According to their own figures, the five BRICS countries already account for 42 percent of the world’s population, 30 percent of the global land area and 24 percent of global economic output. According to South Africa’s Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor, about 40 countries have expressed non-binding interest in membership, 23 of them specifically, including Argentina, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Kuwait, Bangladesh, Venezuela and Thailand.

Russia sees itself fully in its element. An expansion of BRICS is undoubtedly a significant strengthening and “increases its weight in global issues,” as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in advance. He represents Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin, who is staying away from the meeting to be on the safe side. Otherwise, the 70-year-old would have to fear being arrested as a war criminal for his invasion of Ukraine in accordance with the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

Alternatives to the world currency dollar

After there was great joy in the West about the absence of the Kremlin chief and his alleged isolation on the world stage, Putin announced that he was taking part and would be connected via video. In doing so, he is likely to once again promote a move away from the dollar. The Russian president has long criticized the U.S. currency as an instrument of Washington’s political power struggle and advocates that states conduct their business in national currencies. The development bank NDB (New Development Bank), founded by the BRICS countries, should also help with this.

While the Kremlin wants to use the BRICS alliance for its anti-Western purposes, the South African foreign minister stressed that it is neither anti-Western nor pro-Russian. Rather, it is about the fact that Western industrial powers are increasingly neglecting the interests of the global South, she explained, taking a swipe at the G7 countries Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Canada, Great Britain and the USA.

Despite assurances to the contrary, independent observers see the promotion of “BRICS plus” as a clear attempt to compete with the West. BRICS is not a neutral “champion of the Global South” but sees itself as an “alliance against the West,” according to Peter Fabricius, an analyst at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in South Africa. Candidate countries such as Iran or Venezuela could further reinforce this view.

In the following, you can read about the growing influence of the emerging economies on global development and whether the BRICS alliance can actually pose a threat to the established powers