Научная статья на тему 'Rising brics: a Path to multipolar world reality?'

Rising brics: a Path to multipolar world reality? Текст научной статьи по специальности «Социальная и экономическая география»

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Ключевые слова
BRICS / world order / multipolar world / emerging powers / regionalism / interregionalism / G20 / United Nations Security Council (UNSC) / БРИКС / мировой порядок / многополярный мир / растущие державы / регионализм / интеррегионализм / G20 / Совет Безопасности ООН (СБ ООН)

Аннотация научной статьи по социальной и экономической географии, автор научной работы — Shraddha Naik

The discourse over change in the world order from a unipolar to multipolar has gained major attention in the recent times. While the United States upholds the pivotal power position in the international system it has experienced relative economic decline in the recent periods. The economic growth among the countries of the Global South has led to their emergence as a new power contender in the international system. The grouping of Brazil, Russia, China, India, South Africa (BRICS) has fi rmly developed an interregional set up trying to add a new constellation in the world order. It has emerged as a new region of their own with certain shared similarities and common objectives. The group aims to create a niche in international system by creating supplementary intuitions. Adopting reformist attitude, the group stresses on the creation of a multipolar world order demanding recognition to the rising powers of the twenty-fi rst century. The countries are asserting for expansion of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), and reforms in the international fi nancial institutions. The group has pioneered a new discourse of the Global South on the Responsibility while Protecting and Climate Change. However, the internal rivalries and recent slow growth of members leads to the speculation of the group in coordinating in its endeavour of multipolar world reality. Highlighting the BRICS as a new set of interregional interactions among the emerging powers, the paper while discussing the achievements and divergences of the grouping will assess its capability and efforts in creating a multipolar world order.y.

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ПОДЪЕМ БРИКС: ПУТЬ К МНОГОПОЛЯРНОСТИ?

Дискурс о трансформации миропорядка от однополюсного к многополюсному в последнее время привлек большое внимание. Несмотря на то что Соединенные Штаты сохраняют ведущую роль в международной системе, в последнее время наблюдается их относительный экономический спад. Экономический рост в странах глобального Юга превратил их в нового энергетического конкурента в рамках международной системы. Группа стран БРИКС – Бразилия, Россия, Китай, Индия, Южная Африка – сформировала влиятельный трансрегиональный форум, который претендует сказать новое слово в мировой политике. Страны БРИКС сформировали новый регион, стянутый определенными общими сходствами и целями. Группа стремится занять собственную нишу в международной системе. Занимая реформистскую позицию по отношению к мировому порядку, группа подчеркивает стремление к формированию многополярного мира, требуя признания растущих держав XXI века. Страны заявляют о необходимости расширении Совета Безопасности ООН (СБ ООН) и о реформах в рамках международных финансовых институтов. Группа стала лидером в дискурсе глобального Юга по вопросам глобальной ответственности в условиях изменения климата. Тем не менее, внутреннее соперничество и недавно замедлившийся рост стран-членов составляют определенные сдерживающие факторы в стремлении к многополярной мировой реальности. Воспринимая БРИКС в качестве трансрегионального механизма взаимодействия, автор статьи стремится дать оценку достижениям и неудачам группы на пути к формированию многополярного мирового порядка.

Текст научной работы на тему «Rising brics: a Path to multipolar world reality?»

МАТЕРИАЛЫ ДЛЯ ДИСКУССИИ

http://dx.doi.org/10.18611/2221-3279-2018-9-1-100-108

RISING BRICS: A PATH TO MULTIPOLAR WORLD REALITY?

Shraddha Naik

Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India

Article history:

Received:

19 April 2017

Accepted::

18 November 2017

About the author:

Research Scholar, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India

e-mail: shraddnaik@gmail

Key words:

BRICS; world order; multipolar world; emerging powers; regionalism; interregionalism; G20; United Nations Security Council (UNSC)

Abstract: The discourse over change in the world order from a unipolar to multipolar has gained major attention in the recent times. While the United States upholds the pivotal power position in the international system it has experienced relative economic decline in the recent periods. The economic growth among the countries of the Global South has led to their emergence as a new power contender in the international system. The grouping of Brazil, Russia, China, India, South Africa (BRICS) has firmly developed an interregional set up trying to add a new constellation in the world order. It has emerged as a new region of their own with certain shared similarities and common objectives. The group aims to create a niche in international system by creating supplementary intuitions. Adopting reformist attitude, the group stresses on the creation of a multipolar world order demanding recognition to the rising powers of the twenty-first century. The countries are asserting for expansion of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), and reforms in the international financial institutions. The group has pioneered a new discourse of the Global South on the Responsibility while Protecting and Climate Change. However, the internal rivalries and recent slow growth of members leads to the speculation of the group in coordinating in its endeavour of multipolar world reality. Highlighting the BRICS as a new set of interregional interactions among the emerging powers, the paper while discussing the achievements and divergences of the grouping will assess its capability and efforts in creating a multipolar world order. y.

Introduction

The global world order has witnessed periodic changes. There has been challenging shifts in the order from bipolarity that ended in 1945 to the emergence of the United States as the single power creating a unipolar world order. This phenomenon can be related to the power cycle dynamics.1 According to Doran, the struggle for 'power equations' among the prominent states has been evident throughout the history. The power cycle refers to a change in the relative power among countries, that can

1 Doran, Charles. The Politics of Assimilation:

Hegemony and its Aftermath. John Hopkins University Press, 1991, and Power Cycle Theory and Global Politics // International Political

Science Review, 2003, Vol. 24, No. 1.

relate to change in the rise of some countries leading to the gradual decline of other countries. The emergence of the BRICS grouping of the five prominent countries, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, constitute similar theoretical underpinnings. The economic growth of these countries has created an attractive investment fervour in the global markets. The grouping as projected by the investment banker Goldman Sachs has not only sustained the economic rise but also outnumbered certain growth figures projected earlier. With large territorial possessions, burgeoning number of population especially the population below thirty-five years of age, huge markets and plenty of resources, these countries have outshined in the times where developed countries are still managing the after

effects of the Global Financial Crisis of 2008. This growth trajectories of the BRICS countries have led to the formation of an interregional grouping that stresses on establishment of a multipolar world order.

The transformation in the world order can be drawn from the emergence of the Group of 20 (G20). This resembles a club of countries from both the developed and the developing states, which has replaced the powerful Group of 7/8 (G7/8)2 grouping of the developed states. The G20 comprises membership of sates from various regions with sustainable economic growth and having influence on the global affairs. The BRICS grouping have formulated a prominent part of the G20 club of the developing countries.3 The later grouping has gained a significance as the 'G-Next' to highlight important issues affecting the world. From just an idea of investment hub by Jim O'Neill, the group has gradually moved to institutionalising with annual Head of the States meeting and formation of the Working Groups for various sectoral cooperation's. The group is not only asserting its arrival but are determined to intensify their interactions from global, regional and bilateral level. The group also raises important positions at the international platforms. They have been vocal in demanding reforms in the traditionally established international financial institutions such as the UNSC, the International Monetary Forum (IMF), the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the World Bank (WB). The alliance also aims to have a bigger say at the issues concerning the Global South primarily dealing with the Climate Change, Responsibility to Protect, Protectionist Measures adopted by the developed states. With the formation of the New Development Bank (NDB), the group aims to not only enhance their monetary interactions and fund infrastructure projects but also assist in supplementing the existing global financial institutions through

2 Group of 8 (G8), is a grouping of a world's major industrialised and top ranked advanced economies, comprising of United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, United States, Italy and European Union. Whereas Group of 7 (G7) comprises of G8 countries minus Russia.

3 Stuenkel, Oliver. The BRICS and the Future of the Global Order. London: Lexington Books, 2016.

providing liquidity measures. These growing credentials of the BRICS member countries and their insistence on demanding a prominent role in the global decision making leads to a need to engage in evaluation of the grouping for its capability and efforts in creating a multipolar world order. This also highlights the rise of the rest, that are demanding an equal position at the high table.4

Describing BRICS as a key element of a multipolar world, Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Eight BRICS Summit in Goa- 2016, remarked that the "the group intends to focus on addressing issues related to strengthening international security and stability, and enhancing the competitiveness of our economies and promotion of international development."5

The current period has also witnessed the growing level of interdependence among the countries of the world. States now do not stick to their regional paradigms but engages with the other states sharing similar objectives and commonalities. This phenomenon has gained popularity among the emerging powers as similar objectives and aspirations have bridged the countries together in extraterritorial interregional interactions. The emerging powers through these interregional interactions aims to build their image in the global system which focuses on political, economic, military and the soft power potential to influence the decision-making process. Interregional groupings such as the IBSA Dialogue Forum,6 G20, the BASIC,7 formulate a clubbing of different types and genres sharing common goals and aspirations of an achieving a bigger shift in balance of power

4 Zakaria, Fareed. The Post-American World. New York, Norton & Company Penguin Books, 2008.

5 Speech ofRussianPresident VladimirPutin atBRICS Eight Summit. BRICS Relevant due to Western Unilateralism: Vladimir Putin / IANS // The Times of India, October 15/ 2016. Mode of access: http:// http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/BRICS-relevant-due-to-Western-unilateralism-Vladimir-Putin/articleshow/54829082.cms

6 IBSA Dialogue Forum represents to a trilateral organisation of India, Brazil and South Africa established in 2003.

7 BASIC represents the grouping of Brazil, South Africa, India and China, formed to coordinate the climate change negotiation in 2009.

in global structure. According to Antkiewicz and Cooper, 'as the world is witnessing a shift in the international system there should be a provision for accommodating new powers from the Global South8 in the decision-making process'.9

The shift in the international world order can also be attributed to the emergence of new actors in the form of various regional and interregional groupings. The process of globalisation has led to intensification in interaction among the states. The increased level of interdependence and technological advancement has created a complex web of relations among countries of the world. Leading to the shift in the process of regionalism that has surpassed from the traditional settings of old regionalism to new regionalism further moving to multidimensional versions of interregionalism.10

Origin and objectives of the BRICS

The BRIC was initiated in 2001 by the Jim O'Neill from the Goldman Sachs, an influential investment company. The acronym BRIC got popularised through paper "The World Needs Better Economic BRICs",11 that projected these countries as next investment hub. The grouping got more significant after the publication of the second work by the Goldman Sachs in the year 2003 titled "Dreaming with the BRICs: The Path to 2050",12 declaring it as both economic

8 Global South refers to the developing countries which are located in the Southern hemisphere, primarily comprising of countries from Latin and Central America, Africa and most of the states from Asia (UNDP).

9 Antkiewicz, Agata; Cooper, Andrew F. Beyond Geography: BRIC/SAM and the New Contours of Regionalism / in Timothy, M. Shaw (eds.), The Ashgate Research Companion to Regionalisms. Farnham: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2011.

10 Hanggi, Heiner; Roloff, Ralf; Ruland, Jurgen. Interregionalism: a New Phenomenon in International Relations / in Heiner Hanggi et al., Interregionalism and International Relations. Oxon: Routledge, 2006.

11 Neill, Jim O'. Building Better Economic BRICs? // Goldman Sachs / Global Economics Paper No: 6/2001. Mode of access: http://www. goldmansachs.com/our-thinking/archive/archive-pdfs/build-better-brics.pdf

12 Wilson, Dominic; Purushothaman, Roopa.

Dreaming with BRICS: The Path to 2050 /

and political entity to reckon with. The estimate of the foremost countries was done on the basis of their economic growth, with huge capacity for the production, labour and potential market. The formal meeting of the countries with the meeting of the leaders was held at Yekaterinburg in2009. The grouping broadened their objectives to other areas and committed for expansion with the inclusion of South Africa in the year 2010 expanding the acronym to BRICS.13 This also led to inclusion of the state from the African region with huge potential for investment and underrepresented in the international affairs. This expansion of the grouping has also been declared as an emergence of the 'BRICS Decade' (2000-2010).14 There have been a total eight summits of the Head of the State meetings held in five countries in rotation. The fourth summit witnessed the establishment of the New Development Bank (NDB) and Contingency Reserve Arrangements (CRA) in the year 2014,15 with the headquarters in Shanghai and Johannesburg. The BRICS members have contributed a total of $50 billion to fund infrastructure projects and a $100 billion CRA fund to forestall short-term liquidity pressures.

BRICS as an Interregional Grouping

Region as a system of unified group of states with certain common traits and identities has remained a prime feature of international system. One can understand the pattern of a state's regional behaviour and choices to get a deeper analysis of the foreign policy behaviour of the country. Regional integration in the Post-Cold War period has been a significant phenomenon of the 21st century. The study of

Goldman Sachs Economics Papers, No. 99/2003. Mode of access: http://www.goldmansachs.com/ our-thinking/archive/archive-pdfs/brics-dream.pdf

13 BRIC Second Summit. Joint Statement / Brasilia. Mode of access: http://brics.itamaraty.gov.br/ category-english/21-documents/66-second-summit

14 Wilson, D; Kelston; A.; Ahmed, S.. Is this the BRICS Decade? / Goldman Sachs Global Economics, Vol: 10, No. 2.

15 BRICS Fourth Summit. BRICS Partnership for Global Stability, Security and Prosperity, New Delhi, 29 March 2012, Mode of access: //http:// www.bricsindia.in/

regionalism entails various questions of how the region is formed, what are the main criteria for joining any regional framework and what are the criterions to frame regional objectives and role? Louise Fawcett defines region as a unit that can be smaller than international system and bigger than any individual state or non-state actors. These settings can be of a permanent in nature or temporary based on achieving particular goal. The grouping may have an institutional set up with headquarters and set principles of working or a loose club of actor or issue specific.16

The process of regionalism gained prominence during the 21st century as the world scenario was changing. Many of the states from the colonial rule gained freedom and with full sovereign powers and autonomy they engaged in regional settings as one of the medium to further their foreign policy and achieve common goals. The regionalism prior to 21st century was primarily focussed on the European engagement of regionalism which was defined as Old-Regionalism' that was based on political relations and was actor specific. In the 1990s, the process of regional interaction spread to other parts of the world with multidimensional characteristics and was called as New Regionalism. The phenomenon of new regionalism further expanded to the process of interregionalism where region to region interaction gained prominence which was again initiated by the European Union. The interregional dimensions were prevalent in various forms namely trans-interregionalism, mega-interregionalism, and hybrid form of interregionalism. This is an alliance among individual states from various regions based on the common traits and objectives to achieve.17 This phenomenon can be further explained in different theoretical framework primarily based on realist perspectives identifying the

16 Fawcett, Louise. Regionalism from an Historical Perspective in Marry Farrell et al., Global Politics of Regionalism: Theory and Practice. London: Pluto Press, 2005.

17 Hettne, Bjorn. Globalization and the New Regionalism: The Second Great Transformation / in Hettne et al., (eds), Globalism and the New Regionalism. Hampshire: Macmillan Press Ltd. 1999.

interregional interaction on a security linings.18 The liberals notify the economic interaction and trade as the main factor of relations whereas the social constructivist rely on similar identity outlines to form an alliance of interregionalism, for example. the Asian Way identities was initiated to bring the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries together for sharing similar Asian traits.19

The emergence of the newer forms of grouping such as BRICS, IBS A Dialogue Forum, G-20 can all be characterised as a hybrid form of interregional interactions.20 BRICS can be seen as an interregional interaction of the five countries, which has formed a grouping on certain common identification and on the need to achieve joint objectives in an international system. The shared cooperation aims to garner relations that would have been a difficult task for these states with no geographical proximity and differences over culture, language and currency. The groupings such as BRICS can be defined under the interregional definitions with setting of all the three theoretical framings. The push for the multipolar world order signifies their political and economic capabilities.

BRICS efforts in creating a multipolar world reality

The BRICS member countries have established a cooperation stressing on the bilateral, group and global level engagements. At the international level interaction, the grouping has made an attempt to address and stress on the demands that are diverse from the developed countries and are also acknowledged for raising a voice for the Least Developed Countries' (LDC's) that have weaker representation and are marginalised in the international forums

18 Acharya, Amitav. Regionalism and the Emerging World Order: Sovereignty, Autonomy, Identity / in Shaun, Breslin et al., New Regionalism in the Global Political Economy. Oxon: Routledge, 2002.

19 Katzenstein, Peter. J, Regionalism and Asia / in Shaun Breslin et al., New Regionalisms in the Global Political Economy. London: Routledge, 2002.

20 Hanggi, Heiner. Interregionalism as a Multifaceted

Phenomenon: In Search of Typology / in Heiner

Hanggi et al., Interregionalism and International

Relations. Oxon: Routledge, 2006.

in most of the cases. This can be very much evident from the remarks of Indian diplomat Shivshankar Menon "highlighting the capacities and the potential of the rising states in creating a polycentric world order. This world order according to Menon will be focussing on the formation of an alternative power that will draw attention to non-western establishments to lead the affairs of the global system."21

Emphasising on multipolarity, the grouping has tried to form a global voice by collaborating their activities and cooperating at the issues of international relevance. The annual meeting of the Heads of State signifies the importance the leaders of the five countries have assisted to the grouping. Carey defines this "process of annual summits as an architecture of a multipolar world".22 Through BRICS, countries such as India, South Africa and Brazil try to maintain a balanced relation with both the North and the South. In the tumultuous phase of the international uncertainty with the change in power in the US, the episode of BREXIT, economic downfall in many of the European countries; the BRICS has emerged as a decisive factor in the international arena by seeking independent role in the periods that also resembled the cold war uncertainty between the US and the USSR. This also signifies the importance of the multipolar world formation where countries from diverse regions and political experiences will come together and tackle serious issues like terrorism and growing civil conflicts in several regions of the world, as evident from the 9/11 terrorist attack on the US which signified limits of a single country in tackling such serious challenges.23

Reforming the international Financial Institutions such as the WTO, the IMF, and the WB has remained a prime demand of the

21 Menon, Shivshankar. Address by Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon on BRICs in the New World Order, ORF Conference, 2009. Mode of access: http://meaindia.nic.in/mystart. php?id=100514910

22 Carey, Richard. The BRICS Role in Today's Multipolar World / Institute of Development Studies, 2016. Mode of access: http://www. ids.ac.uk/opinion/the-brics-role-in-today-s-multipolar-world

23 Acharya, Amitav. The End of American World Order. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2014.

BRICS grouping. They have raised a concern for making these institutions more inclusive for the developing countries. The group members claim the process to be discriminatory to the developing countries with regard to the selection of the heads of these institutions and in accommodating the currencies of the emerging economies in the Special Drawing Rights (SDR's) quota. The recognition of this demand was visible with the inclusion of China in the SDR quota basket in October 2016.24 In the WTO negotiations, the group members have been vocal on raising issues of the protective measures, especially issuance of subsidies in agricultural sectors and expressed its full support to the Doha Development negotiation.25 With granting support to the accommodation of India, Brazil and South Africa in the UNSC, the BRICS countries have stressed on the expansion of the multilateral organisation.26 They have agreed to invest more in the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) to contribute to the developing countries.

The decision for establishment of the NDB can be regarded as the significant achievement of the joint collaboration of the five countries. This focuses on formation of a supplementary financial system to provide funds for infrastructural projects and CRA provisions to assist in liquidity funds in the time of economic crisis. In the 2012 Summit, the members have emphasised on creation of an intra-BRICS Exchange Alliance', with provision for trade in the domestic currencies of the five countries that leads to index based derivatives trading options reducing the transaction cost and their reliance on dollar. This will assist in facilitating greater liquidity deepen financial integration that will be based on market determined mechanisms.27

24 Fourth BRICS Summit, BRICS Partnership for Global Stability, Security and Prosperity, 2012. Mode of access: http://www.bricsindia.in

25 ENS Economic Bureau, Development Bank Tops BRICS Summit Agenda // The Indian Express, 2012.

26 First BRICS Summit. Joint Statement of the BRIC Countries Leaders. Yekaterinburg, Russia, 16 June 2009. Mode of access: http://brics.itamaraty.gov. br/category-english/21-documents/114-first-summit-2

27 Samir, Saran; Sharan, Vivian. Banking on BRICS to Deliver // The Hindu, 2012.

The BRICS grouping have condemned the mass atrocities perpetrated to the people of Syria due to the process of militarisation. The members have backed the 'Six Point Plan' proposed by former UN Secretary General in 2013, which stressed on the immediate ceasefire in the region. The grouping also supported to adhere to concept of Responsibility while Protecting (RWP), which was initiated by Brazil. This phenomenon stresses on following the policy of compromise in determining the last resort and its consequences to be discussed thoroughly at the UNSC".28

Along with these joint global endeavours, the BRICS grouping has joint collaboration to intensify intra-BRICS trade focussing mainly on Small and Medium Enterprises (SME's), e-commerce, addressing issues of harmonization, intellectual property rights, trade facilitation, customs cooperation.29 In the eight-summit held in Goa, India, the communiqué stressed on the deepening the interaction at the People-to-People (P2P) and Business-to-Business (B2B) levels.30

The BRICS displayed a unified reaction to the Crimean crisis. The governments of the five countries raised a strong support to Russia when the latter was allegedly ousted by the Australian government in the G20 Summit to be held Brisbane, Australia in 2014. The BRICS unitedly criticised this act of sanctions by declaring it highly discriminatory and undermining the G20's capacity as a joint group of countries.31

However, with several similar goals to achieve at the global level and aim to deepening the intra-BRICS interaction, the group also has

28 Stuenkel, Oliver. BRICS and the 'Responsibility while Protecting' Concept' // The Hindu, 2012.

29 Fourth BRICS Summit, BRICS Partnership for Global Stability, Security and Prosperity, 2012. Mode of access: http://www.bricsindia.in

30 BRICS Eight Summit. Goa Declaration / 15-16 October 2016, Goa. Mode of access: brics2016. gov.in/upload/goa/%20Declaration%20and%20 Action%20Plan.pdf

31 BRICS Foreign Ministerial Meeting. Chairperson's Statement on the BRICS Foreign Ministerial

Meeting / Republic of South Africa's Department

of International Relations and Cooperation / The

Hague. Mode of access: http://www.dfa.gov.za/

docs/2014/brics0324.html, 2014

many differences. This has been a major factor for criticism among the Western media, which has denounced the grouping for uncommon friendship. The countries have differences with political affiliation where, India, Brazil and South Africa practice democracy where as Russia practises authoritarian and China observes Communist ideologies. China's economic growth is much ahead of the rest of the group members. The geographical distance, differences in cultures and languages among the countries builds a hurdle in engaging and coordinating with the group members.

The group members have divergences with various international issues. With regard to the expansion of the UNSC, Russia and China adhere to status quo of power and stress on veto power. They also have differences over nuclear proliferation issues where India is a non-signatory of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of the Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

The group insists on forming a non-western world order however, all the members share strategic partnership with the US and other developed countries from the West. The US remains a prime trade partner for these countries, where bilateral trade relations among the BRICS is much lower in numbers. The grouping is also criticised for limitations in raising concerns of the Global South. The over investment in the regions of Africa and Latin America by countries such as China, Russia and India is criticised as a new form of imperialism and leading to scramble of resources, exploitation of cheap labour and flooding of markets with the goods manufactured from these countries especially China.32

China-India rivalry in the South Asian region remains one of the major cause of concern in the grouping. Both the countries have unresolved boundaries and territorial disputes with regard to Aksai Chin, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim.33 India hosts Tibetan religious leader and government in exile with providing refuge to Dalai Lama, that often creates a power

32 Bond, Patrick. BRICS and the Sub-Imperial Location / in Patrick Bond and Ana Garcia, (eds.), BRICS: An Anti-Capitalist Critique. New Delhi: Aakar Books, 2016.

33 Dixit, J, N. India's Foreign Policy 1947-2003. Gyan Publications, 2003.

tension between both the countries. The recent visit of Dalai Lama to Arunachal Pradesh in the month of April this year was highly condemned by the Chinese government which was received with a firm defense from the Indian side.

China shares good military ties with Pakistan, and has initiated building roads and infrastructure projects in the contentious region of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK). India has raised serious concern with this proximity leading to a creation of triangle of relation between India, China and Pakistan. India-China also have fierce competition with regard to the trade routes in the Indian ocean, China has initiated building of ports and military bases in the countries neighbouring India, especially in Gwadar, near Karachi in Pakistan. India has raised a concern over these developments and claims it as a process of encircling India by China which has also been defined as 'String of Pearl Theory' by some scholars.34 India is also considered as the Asian Pivot of America to counter China's rising growth and influence in the region. This has created a relation of competition and contradiction between the two countries. In the recent news report35, China has declared to invite Pakistan as the outreach member of the BRICS Plus initiative that had begun from the Fortaleza summit in 2014, if such moves occur; it will antagonise the relation of India and China in the grouping and will lead to volatile situation in the existing set up.

These divergences can create a major obstacle in the smooth functioning of the grouping and their coordination. the grouping is still in its evolving stages and evaluating its performance will be a too early process. Its attempts to institutionalise the grouping and establish a supplementary monetary system to the existing financial system proves its commitment and interest in asserting its rise and presence in the international markets.

34 Chellaney, Brahma. Asian Juggernaut: The Rise of China, India and Japan. Harper Business Publications, 2010.

35 Sputnik. Potential Pakistan Entry in BRICS Via China's BRICS Plus Leaves India Concerned, Sputnik. Mode of access: https://sputniknews. com/world/201703111051472250-china-pakistan-brics/

Conclusion

BRICS has become the most debated and discussed grouping among both the developed and the developing countries. Its insistence on the creation of a multipolar world order, and acceptance of the emerging economies as the 'power next' has led to the new discourse in the structure of the interregional framework. This grouping proves as the best example of the hybrid form of the interregional interaction that can grow beyond the regional boundaries, and formulate a link between the countries sharing similar objectives of framing a new global system.36 As the power dynamics of these emerging economies have performed better than the established supremacies, this clearly demonstrates the dependence and amalgamation of the world order consisting of both the developed and the developing countries. Showcasing interest in global and intra-BRICS cooperation, its emphasis on addressing issues of global governance does highlight the BRICS as the grouping with huge potential.

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However, the underlying differences among the countries, and major political issues between India and China remains a cause of concern for the grouping to realise its objectives. The countries also lack mechanism in managing corruption and have many issues to address related to the ageing population, weak health facilities, poverty, sanitation, illiteracy, unemployment, housing, pollution, gender disparity etc. The economies of South Africa, Brazil, Russia and China has experienced a slowdown in the recent times. The political tensions leading to change in government in Brazil has escalated to social unrest in the country, with the "new pro-American" government there were speculations of 'BRAXIT', the exit of Brazil form the grouping.37 However, the Brazilian government did showcase its strong interest in the grouping with President

36 Hanggi, Heiner; Roloff, Ralf; Ruland, Jurgen. Interregionalism: a New Phenomenon in International Relations / in Heiner Hanggi et al., Interregionalism and International Relations. Oxon: Routledge, 2006.

37 Rakesh Krishnan Simha. BRICS Should Prepare for a BRAXIT a Brazilian Exit? / 4 July 2016. Mode of access: http://in.rbth.com/blogs/ stranger_than_fiction/2016/07/04/brics-should-prepare-for-braxit-a-brazilian-exit_608637

Michel Temer attending the eight summit in Goa, India in October 2016. South African President Jacob Zuma is also facing a turbulent period with the corruption charges against the government.38

With eight annual summits of the Heads of the states and cooperation in several working groups, the grouping has come a long way from the initial introduction as an investment hub by the Goldman Sachs. This alliance is relatively a new entrant in the world hierarchy of powers. The countries in order to demand a stronger role in the international decision making bodies, will have to intensify their cooperation, leaving the political dimensions aside, the grouping has to build a better responsive platform for resolving major issues affected in these countries. They should cooperate intensively in addressing health crisis such as emergence of life threatening diseases like Zika and Ebola affecting the member countries.

The introduction of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and Belt and Road initiative by China can be seen as both complementary and challenging factor for the identity of the grouping. Measures must be drawn to address these issues with these endeavours. With the 45% of the world population and total 30% of the global territory, the grouping can be a strong voice of the global south. Addressing the issue of the developing countries should be the forte of the grouping. In order to highlight it as the responsible power the group has to win the confidence of the LDCs and assist them in their developmental goals. Disbursing the NDB and the CRA funds to the states most in need will not only prove the economic credentials of the grouping but will also lead to lessening financial reliance from the developed world proving the former as the right contender of the global power and for laying the foundation of the multipolar reality.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.18611/2221-3279-2018-9-1-100-108

ПОДЪЕМ БРИКС: ПУТЬ К МНОГОПОЛЯРНОСТИ?

Шраддха Найк

Университет Джавахарлала Неру, Нью-Дели, Индия

Информация о статье:

Поступила в редакцию:

19 апреля 2017

Принята к печати:

18 ноября 2017

Об авторах:

научный сотрудник, Университет Джавахарлала Неру, Индия

e-mail: shraddnaik@gmail.com

Ключевые слова:

БРИКС; мировой порядок;

многополярный мир;

растущие державы; регионализм;

интеррегионализм; G20;

Совет Безопасности ООН (СБ ООН)

Аннотация: Дискурс о трансформации миропорядка от однополюсного к многополюсному в последнее время привлек большое внимание. Несмотря на то что Соединенные Штаты сохраняют ведущую роль в международной системе, в последнее время наблюдается их относительный экономический спад. Экономический рост в странах глобального Юга превратил их в нового энергетического конкурента в рамках международной системы. Группа стран БРИКС - Бразилия, Россия, Китай, Индия, Южная Африка -сформировала влиятельный трансрегиональный форум, который претендует сказать новое слово в мировой политике. Страны БРИКС сформировали новый регион, стянутый определенными общими сходствами и целями. Группа стремится занять собственную нишу в международной системе. Занимая реформистскую позицию по отношению к мировому порядку, группа подчеркивает стремление к формированию многополярного мира, требуя признания растущих держав XXI века. Страны заявляют о необходимости расширении Совета Безопасности ООН (СБ ООН) и о реформах в рамках международных финансовых институтов. Группа стала лидером в дискурсе глобального Юга по вопросам глобальной ответственности в условиях изменения климата. Тем не менее, внутреннее соперничество и недавно замедлившийся рост стран-членов составляют определенные сдерживающие факторы в стремлении к многополярной мировой реальности. Воспринимая БРИКС в качестве трансрегионального механизма взаимодействия, автор статьи стремится дать оценку достижениям и неудачам группы на пути к формированию многополярного мирового порядка.

Для цитирования: Naik, Shraddha. Rising BRICS: a Path to Multipolar World Reality? // Сравнительная политика. - 2018. - № 1. - С. 100-108. DOI: 10.18611/2221-3279-2018-9-1-100-108

For citation: Naik, Shraddha. Rising BRICS: a Path to Multipolar World Reality? // Comparative Politics Russia, 2018, No.1, pp. 100-108. DOI: 10.18611/2221-3279-2018-9-1-100-108

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