When leaders of the BRICS nations — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — convened in Johannesburg this week for their annual summit, they sought to forge a consensus on expanding their group and strengthening bonds between them so that it would function more effectively as a counterweight to a world that does not afford them the respect and influence they feel they deserve.
Shared grievance may bind them, but it is not enough to fuel concerted action. Internal divisions still prevent the BRICS from fulfilling their dream of challenging a world order dominated by the West. Differences among them are likely to remain too great for the group to become a pillar of a multipolar world.
At the time of its formulation — by a Goldman Sachs economist, no less — the BRIC nations (South Africa joined later) were underestimated in assessments of global power. Russia and China were nuclear powers but the group’s economic weight was undervalued. Some 20 years later, that economic potential is uneven. Russia is staggering under the weight of economic sanctions in the aftermath of the Ukraine invasion while China stumbles after emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic. South Africa suffers from corruption, Brazil has underperformed as result of mismanagement and India’s economic performance is fitful.