The Guardian view on Brics: demand for membership is a symptom of global disorder | Editorial
As the world grows more fractured, developing countries are looking for new coalitions to stay out of a possible cold war
The last decade of annual summits held by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (Brics) has rarely merited much attention beyond their own capitals. But last week’s conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, is likely to be remembered as a turning point in modern history – with six large nations joining the current five members. A few dozen more states wish to sign up. But the club’s popularity is not a sign that an anti-western bloc is coalescing. “Brics-11” contains two US allies: Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Rather, demand for Brics membership looks more like an expression of concern at the way in which global disorder is growing.
As the world grows more fractured, developing countries are stressing self-reliance and looking for new coalitions to keep their options open. What unites the Brics-11 nations is their view of geopolitics. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the transatlantic alliance has consolidated, and Moscow and Beijing have drawn closer. Brics members see the world moving towards a cold war-type mentality between a US-led coalition of democracies and a rival grouping of autocracies. This is not something that the leaders in many middle-order countries desire. Few would welcome a situation that constrains their political and economic freedom of action, as happened during the decades of Soviet-American rivalry.
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