BRICS configurations: representation of the majority world

This research paper analyzes the first ten annual intergovernmental declarations of the BRICS configuration (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) to evaluate how the group represents the interests of the 'majority world'. The author argues that while BRICS has successfully used discursive strategies to advocate for the reform of global economic governance and has achieved some practical outcomes through the G20, there remains a significant gap between its declarative statements and collective policy implementation.

• The BRICS configuration uses its annual intergovernmental declarations to project a shared vision of enhancing the world order and representing the interests of low-income, emerging, and developing countries, despite the member states having diverging domestic governance models and economic ideologies.
• The common themes in BRICS declarations are categorized into five areas: practical cooperation, global economic governance, international security, cultural diversity, and principles. These themes focus on reforming the global financial architecture, which is described as discriminatory and lacking transparency, and addressing global threats that disproportionately affect poor communities.
• In its early years, BRICS successfully translated its discursive goals into practical outcomes by influencing the G20, leading to International Monetary Fund (IMF) quota reforms that transferred shares to underrepresented countries.
• BRICS pressure contributed to a shift in voting power at the World Bank in favor of emerging market and developing countries, following the bank's first general capital increase in over twenty years.
• The group advocated for increased resources for the poorest countries, resulting in a commitment during the 2010 G20 summit to increase IMF resources by USD 6 billion through the sale of IMF gold to expand concessional financing.
• Since 2023, the BRICS alliance has expanded to include Ethiopia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Iran, though this 'BRICS Plus' arrangement remains informal.
• There is a persistent gap between the group's declarative statements and its actual policy coordination. The author notes a lack of clarity regarding collective implementation, citing that documents from BRICS Trade Ministers (2011–17) do not reveal common strategies developed from their meetings.

APA

Kodabux, A. (2024). BRICS configurations: representation of the majority world. Africa Policy Research Institute. https://afripoli.org/brics-configurations-representation-of-the-majority-world

Chicago

Kodabux, Adeelah. BRICS configurations: representation of the majority world. Africa Policy Research Institute, 2024. https://afripoli.org/brics-configurations-representation-of-the-majority-world.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Kodabux |first1=Adeelah |title=BRICS configurations: representation of the majority world |publisher=Africa Policy Research Institute |date=28 October 2024 |url=https://afripoli.org/brics-configurations-representation-of-the-majority-world |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{kodabux2024brics, author = {Kodabux, Adeelah}, title = {{BRICS configurations: representation of the majority world}}, institution = {Africa Policy Research Institute}, year = {2024}, month = oct, url = {https://afripoli.org/brics-configurations-representation-of-the-majority-world}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }