Fit for Purpose? BRICS and Inner‐Group Conflicts
| Published date | 01 September 2021 |
| Author | Malte Brosig |
| Date | 01 September 2021 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/1758-5899.12998 |
Fit for Purpose? BRICS and Inner-Group
Conflicts
Malte Brosig
University of the Witwatersrand
Abstract
This contribution argues that BRICS is designed to manage inner-group tensions indirectly by endorsing a number of prag-
matic operating principles. However, these principles seem to work best at smaller scale conflicts but not larger armed con-
frontation. The article breifly discusses the internal operating procedures of the BRICS group followed by a discussion of their
relative value vis-
a-vis inner group conflict. The article finishes by exploring the role of smaller group members such as South
Africa and their ability to dissipate political tensions.
Rising tensions among great powers seems to be a continu-
ing trend in the third decade of our century and BRICS is no
general exception from this trend (Hurrell, 2018). The India-
China border standoff in June 2020 culminated in the death
of several dozens of soldiers in a punch-fest at the joint
Himalayan border. Although similar events have happened
in the past and the risk of a nuclear confrontation is limited
as both sides pragmatically restrain themselves from escalat-
ing tensions into open military conflict, the foreign policy
ramifications of this unsolved border issue are potentially far
reaching. A flagship project like the BRICS group might in
fact suffer if the two largest economies within it are at log-
gerheads with each other. Great power rivalry is already
negatively impacting on the functioning of the UN Security
Council and multilateralism is supposed to be in its most
substantial crisis since the end of the Cold War (Patrick,
2015). Will BRICS face a similar destiny?
1.BRICS operating principles
While the introductory article (Verma and Papa, 2021) to this
Special Section provides a broader discussion of the current
BRICS literature, and India-China protracted rivalry and the
impact of the border skirmish on the bilateral relations, this
contribution more narrowly focuses on the internal operat-
ing procedures and principles in relation to the Indian-
Chinese border conflict. It is argued that analyzing BRICS’
ability to manage inner-group conflicts requires first of all
an understanding of how it is working internally. It cannot
be emphasized enough that the fate of BRICS rests primarily
on how its members perceive the group and what value
added the group produces for them. External evaluations
and ascriptions of its political relevance are far less relevant.
The academic literature as well as policy circles often evalu-
ate the potential of BRICS through discussing externally
derived benchmarks. The debate tends to circle around the
question if BRICS countries are either revisionist or
accommodating within the current structure of global order
(Lipton, 2017; Nel, 2010). They are often described as too
disparate to form a meaningful political alliance and geo-
graphically placed in different sometimes conflictive settings
within their own region.
While these are valid incursions, they are missing an
important dimension. These are mostly externally derived
benchmarks. However, the purpose of the group (of any for-
eign policy group) is hardly to please international commen-
tators but is linked to internal operating principles which
correspond to member countries needs and expectations
towards the group. In other words, the perceived deficiency
of BRICS failing to form a strong alliance because of its
internal divisions is less relevant if its internal operating
mechanisms are capable of managing such tensions and if
the group does not aspire to classical bloc building. Divi-
sions and tensions within the group are not automatically a
sign of weakness. In the context of this special section the
main question should be: “Is the BRICS group able to man-
age instances of inner-group conflict based on its own oper-
ating principles?”The question if BRICS will fall apart also
depends on the degree of unity and coherency the group is
aspiring too. If only lose coordination is wanted, internal
tensions are less likely to severely disrupt the group than in
the case of substantial resource pooling and power delega-
tion. The fact that the India-China standoff is an inner group
affair warrants exploring internal working mechanisms first.
BRICS can best be understood as a foreign policy group-
ing which is frequently meeting and formulating joint poli-
cies, but operating in a lightly institutionalized environment.
As such there is no BRICS secretariat, headquarters or foun-
dational treaty which is formulating aims, principles or
decision-making procedures. Only the New Development
Bank (NDB) and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA)
display clear elements of institutionalization. The absence of
formalized rules should not a priori be seen as a weakness –
but can be treated as deliberate and purposeful –instead of
Global Policy (2021) 12:4 doi: 10.1111/1758-5899.12998©2021 Durham University and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Global Policy Volume 12 . Issue 4 . September 2021529
Special Section Article
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