A Global Rebalance

The paper examines how the Russia-Ukraine conflict challenges the BRICS bloc's stated principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity. It analyzes the divergent voting patterns of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa at the United Nations, noting that the group lacks a common stance on the conflict. While the bloc advocates for a more equitable international order and criticizes Western double standards, the author argues that Russia's invasion of Ukraine risks compromising the bloc's credibility and creating a precedent where powerful states ignore international principles.

• BRICS member states do not maintain a unified voting bloc at the United Nations, instead voting together primarily on shared interests such as Syria or objections to sanctions and the use of force.
• Regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict, BRICS members have taken nuanced and divergent positions at the UNGA: Brazil voted to condemn Russia in March 2022, while China and Brazil later supported humanitarian access, and India and South Africa abstained due to the resolution's language.
• The BRICS bloc views itself as a challenger to Western dominance and hypocrisy in the international order, citing examples such as biased media coverage of the Ukraine war and the disparate treatment of refugees.
• Russia's invasion of Ukraine is identified as a violation of the core BRICS principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity, potentially creating a precedent for powerful states to ignore these rules, similar to the US invasion of Iraq.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2022). A Global Rebalance. https://saiia.org.za/research/a-global-rebalance/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. A Global Rebalance. 2022. https://saiia.org.za/research/a-global-rebalance/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=A Global Rebalance |date=19 September 2022 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/a-global-rebalance/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2022global, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{A Global Rebalance}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2022}, month = sep, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/a-global-rebalance/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }