Opinion: Growth at all costs?
Dr Bhaso Ndzendze is Associate Professor and HOD in the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Johannesburg. He recently published an opinion article that first appeared in the IPS on 25 August 2023. The choice to expand the BRICS might bring an end to the group as we know it. Going into the 2023 BRICS Summit – the 15th such gathering of the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – there were two main expectations regarding the possible outcomes, both the subject of much speculation. The first was around ‘de-dollarization’, the second about expansion. While the former was consigned to further deliberation, the latter has delivered a shocking result with the admission of six new countries to take up full membership in January 2024.
Underwhelming advances on ‘de-dollarization’ There has been a remarkable consistency in the BRICS’ declarations over the past 15 summits. The grouping has
Fourthly, the group has continuously insisted on the need to reform global governance structures to reflect the new reality of the emergence of major economies outside the North Atlantic, which dominated institutions since the end of World War II. Regarding this topic, the very first communiqué stated that ‘the emerging and developing economies must have greater voice and representation in international financial institutions, whose heads and executives should be appointed through an open, transparent, and merit-based selection process.’ The wish for an own currency cannot be accomplished through summit declarations alone; it requires confidence by citizens and businesses in their fellow BRICS members’ economic foundations, and, so far, they have been ambivalent towards one another.
unfailingly touched on four themes in its annual deliberations. Firstly, it has reiterated the importance of multilateralism, an outcome of the global financial crisis and recession of 2008/9, and the resulting comparative decline of the West (exacerbated by the 2010 Eurozone crisis). Secondly, the grouping has emphasised continued economic growth, paying attention to progress on the MDGs and their successor, the SDGs. Thirdly, the group has been insistent on solidarity, often expressing support for one another’s sovereignty and aspirations, particularly Brazil, India and South Africa’s desires to join the UN Security Council – although China and Russia have been noncommittal on this.
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