Move towards stronger multipolar forum
-: R Muthu Kumar :-
With the proposed BRICS expansion, the need for institutionalisation and apparatus-creation has seemingly become more visible. Institutionalisation is defined as “the act or process of establishing a group, movement or programme as a permanent and publicly recognised entity for the promotion of a particular cause”.
This process of institution-creation is considered crucial for structure provision and result delivery.
BRICS has to consider some of the obstacles lying on the way to a successful institutionalisation and further propose its own unique structure to become a heavy weight bloc.
The general consensus is that the expansion of BRICS is meant to enhance the group’s global influence and aid transition to a “multipolar world”. The expanded BRICS will inject more stability and positive energy into the unstable international order.
Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a notable pit stop in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. This was followed by a meeting with Iran President Ebrahim Raisi in Moscow. The three key issues in all three meetings, confirmed by diplomatic sources, were Gaza, OPEC+ and BRICS expansion. They are, of course, interlinked.
Russia will assume the BRICS presidency next year and at this juncture the Russia-Iran strategic partnership, alongside Russia-Saudi Arabia (especially on OPEC+) and Russia-UAE (investments) have a significance for the global happenings in the coming years.
The original five BRICS – led by the Russia-China strategic partnership – will open their doors to three major West Asian powers Iran, Saudi Arabia, and UAE on January 1, 2024 when Russia will be in the presidency.
BRICS 10 grouping under the Russian presidency, to become an effective counterpart to UN which is a puppet in the hands of America.
As a group, BRICS has an informal character. There is no charter, it does not work with a fixed secretariat, nor does it have any funds to finance its activities. Ultimately, what sustains the mechanism is the political will of its members. However, BRICS have a degree of institutionalisation which is defined as the five countries intensify their interaction.”
For now it is safe to say it is a mirror image of G7 in it’s style of functioning! G7 is an informal grouping of advanced democracies that meets annually to coordinate global economic policy and address other transnational issues. BRICS leaders repeatedly say that “We do not want to be a counterpoint to the G7, G20 or the United States”.
For now the nature of BRICS alliance encompasses a unique feature combination and claims for South-South cooperation and it is a promising factor for its role in the international arena.
Experts feel BRICS presently is an alliance of informal inter-governmental organisations and that actually requires further institutionalisation for a higher level of operationalisation and functionality.
Informal arrangements with a set of convention and mutual understanding is what it is now, but to tackle future challenges it has to be a institution governed by formal rules with a global vision with sets boundaries potential and work ethics and attitude.
BRICS is headed to become a more vibrant forum as is it has formalised a charter to ensure it has enhances internal cohesion and big say in international affairs.
Experts are of opinion that the three main features to be predominant in institution identification, namely:
a) deliberation system, “institutional spaces where the states carry out the negotiation process in order to establish an agreement or consensus”
b) informational system, “the set of rules and regulations aimed to solve and regulate the information flows that are institutionally produced”, and
c) institutional incentive system, “the set of norms and rules that regulate the behavior of the actors in order to induce certain behaviors and discourage others”.
BRICS’ institutional practices must take care of handling issues such as annual executive summits, ministerial meetings, mainly in the areas of finance, foreign affairs or health, technical-bureaucratic meetings, either autonomous or delegated, and people-to-people contacts.
The establishment of the New Development Bank (NDB) and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) which is a framework for the provision of support through liquidity and precautionary instruments in response to actual or potential short-term balance of payments pressures are the intial steps taken by BRICS to become a global active institutional player like EU or ASEAN.
BRICS formed New Development Bank to fund infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging market economies and developing countries. The Bank has an initial authorized capital of 100 billion dollars, and an initial subscribed capital of 50 billion dollars.
For now the above move for institutionalisation processes can be seen present and interwoven within the BRICS alliance. A complex nature of cooperation already exists in separate spheres!
In the security sphere, the nations recall their determination for peace and development under the “African solutions to African problems” principles, the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran, the promotion of a lasting settlement to the Syrian crisis, and many others. In the same sphere, the call for strengthening disarmament and non-proliferation is often made. Furthermore, counter-terrorism measures remain of high significance. On the economic frontier, one could recall the Strategy for BRICS Economic Partnership 2025, the Strategy on Food Security Cooperation of the BRICS countries, the BRICS Digital Economy Working Group, the BRICS Partnership on the New Industrial Revolution (PartNIR), and many others
All the aforementioned features could be the foundation setting the stage for BRICS institution-building.
It is undeniable that a Charter creation would be seen as the first step towards institutionalization and would allow the organisation to obtain a legal personality, enhance institutional accountability and compliance, and reinforce the role of the BRICS as a serious international organisation.
It is also necessary to have a Dispute Settlement for implementing the provision of intra-conflict dispute resolution mechanisms.
The 2023 BRICS Summit, the 15th annual event held in South Africa, saw the inclusion of Argentina, Ethiopia, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and UAE as the six new additions to the BRICS. Thus the expansion of BRICS was taken 13 years after the organisation was last expanded with the addition of South Africa in 2010.
The grouping went from having a 40.9% share of the global population to 46%. India and China are two of the world’s most populous nations. Among the new entrants, Ethiopia and Egypt have the largest populations.
The expanded BRICS nations have diversified their trade relationships by promoting intra-group trade. This has helped reduce dependency on traditional Western markets and provided opportunities for member nations to tap into each other’s growing consumer bases.
