The Emboldened Triangle

The research paper examines the formation and early challenges of the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Dialogue Forum, a partnership aimed at increasing the influence of developing nations in global economic and security governance.

• The India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Dialogue Forum was established based on principles of international law, the eradication of poverty, disease, and social injustice, and the pursuit of a more inclusive and equitable form of globalisation.
• The three IBSA nations possess a combined annual GDP of $1.1 billion, which represents 3% of the total global economic output.
• IBSA has seen significant growth in trade over the last decade, with South Africa's trade increasing by 1,334% with India and 268% with Brazil, while trade between Brazil and India grew by 450%.
• The forum's primary successes have been in trade negotiations, specifically brokering an August 2003 deal allowing poorer countries to override pharmaceutical patents and helping lead a bloc of developing states to reject a US-EU global trade agreement at the September 2003 WTO meeting in Cancun.
• The partnership faces criticism and skepticism, including concerns from other developing nations like Nigeria and Egypt regarding IBSA's claim to represent the Global South and its aspirations for permanent seats on the UN Security Council.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2004). The Emboldened Triangle. https://saiia.org.za/research/the-emboldened-triangle/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. The Emboldened Triangle. 2004. https://saiia.org.za/research/the-emboldened-triangle/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=The Emboldened Triangle |date=28 March 2004 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/the-emboldened-triangle/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2004emboldened, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{The Emboldened Triangle}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2004}, month = mar, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/the-emboldened-triangle/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }