The BRICS Plus: A major Challenge to a New Shared Global Order 1
Chair(s): Prof. Marco Ricceri (EURISPES: Secretary general of the Institute of Political, Economic and Social (Rome, Italy), coordinator of the BRICS Laboratory. Member of the Board of Directors of the SIOI - Italian Society for International Organization. (I))
Discussant(s): Prof. Maria Grazia Melchionni (Sapienza University of Rome, Rivista di Stufi Politici Internazionali (I))
The panellists will explore the reasons for the enlargement of the BRICS (2024) and the role of the coalition in the building of a New Shared World Order.
Papers
Leading or disruptive? A focus on the effects of BRICS’ cooperation
Dr. Giovanni Barbieri
CRANEC, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milano; EURISPES – BRICS lab (I)
Sixteen years after the formal birth of the BRICS coalition, many changes have occurred in the world that have revolutionized the structure of international relations and the functioning of the global economic system. While it is not sure that these changes have been brought about by the direct action of the BRICS, it can certainly be said that without the existence of the BRICS some of these changes would not have taken place. It can therefore be assumed that intra-BRICS cooperation may have influenced the course of global political and economic affairs, triggering dynamics of change involving a multiplicity of aspects of international life.
One of the most interesting elements of BRICS cooperation is that it has created an alternative pole at the global level, especially in comparison to the established global governance structure of development cooperation, hinged on the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
Moreover, this alternative to established governance is creating a series of side effects, such as the prospects of de-dollarization of the world economy and new economic and political alignments of commodity-producing countries. Such a circumstance has the potential to drastically restructure global supply chains and alter global value chains, with obvious effects on both the functioning of the global economy and the globalisation process itself.
This paper will attempt to analyse these processes in order to draw some conclusions on the immediate and, in perspective, future effects that intra-BRICS cooperation may have on the structure of the international system.
Latin America in Global Governance: challenges for the future between BRICS Plus strategy, populism and neoliberal policies
Dr. Francesco Petrone
UNTREF (AR)
Latin America stands at the crossroads of multiple global challenges, influenced by a complex intersection of political, economic, and social factors. This proposal explores the role the region can play in the current and future landscape of global governance, focusing on three key elements: the BRICS Plus strategy, the phenomenon of populism, and the adoption of neoliberal policies (often those embraced by Bretton Woods institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund). In our view, these three aspects are closely interconnected. Indeed, the BRICS Plus strategy presents an opportunity, particularly because it could provide alternatives to countries that have hitherto experienced interventions from Bretton Woods institutions. However, the recent decision by Argentina to withdraw from the BRICS group marks a critical point to keep in mind for the future. The Argentine example, therefore, provides insights into how populism and the defence of neoliberal policies can deeply influence vital decisions, such as the accession of new members from the region to the BRICS group. The future decisions of various regional governments – currently torn between joining non-Western groups (such as BRICS) or maintaining a pro-Western stance, primarily in alliance with the United States – will play a fundamental role in shaping global governance. And the direction that both global governance and multilateralism will take in the near future is crucial for our planet and the urgent issues it faces, such as climate change, wars, etc., demanding immediate responses.
BRICS enlargement 2024: what possible impact on the Global Governance?
Prof. Marco Ricceri
EURISPES: Secretary general of the Institute of Political, Economic and Social (Rome, Italy), coordinator of the BRICS Laboratory. Member of the Board of Directors of the SIOI - Italian Society for International Organization. (I)
The decision of the 15th BRICS Summit (23 August 2023 under the presidency of South Africa) to enlarge the coordination to new full member states from 1 January 2024, aroused surprise, and a vast international echo in the press, in the world of politics, in the community of scholars and analysts of geopolitical and geo-economic processes. The most widespread interpretation is that the entry into the BRICS coordination of new member states is a choice destined to create a geopolitical bloc on the international scene opposed to the Western one.
To avoid the error of interpretations that may be simplistic and even deviant, the scientific community is called to carry out an in-depth analysis and evaluation of the real strategies pursued by the BRICS coordination with reference to the BRICS Outreach (extension) and BRICS Plus (enlargement) policies. In fact, if on the one hand the BRICS have always pursued the objective of creating a world order capable of guaranteeing more widespread, balanced and fair development since the 2011 summit, on the other they have always confirmed their desire to pursue this objective by means of reform – and not disruption – of the main formal and informal international institutions that currently exist: from the United Nations to the G20 Coordination.
The Author presents useful elements of knowledge to reflect on the possible future evolution of the complex BRICS reality and its contribution to the reform process in the framework of the ongoing formation of a new international multilateral system.
