Life After Expansion: The BRICS Quest for Institutional Coherence

The document analyzes the institutional strain on BRICS caused by its expansion, noting that while the bloc's global influence has grown, its consensus-based governance struggles with divergent member interests. It evaluates Brazil's 2025 presidency, which attempted to prioritize institutional development but saw most structural reforms deferred in the Rio Declaration. The authors contrast the informal nature of the broader bloc with the formal success of the New Development Bank (NDB) and propose six targeted, low-bureaucracy improvements—including a shared document repository and standardized onboarding—to improve operational effectiveness without sacrificing the group's flexible identity.

• The expansion of BRICS to 10 full members and 10 partners has created significant institutional pressure, straining a consensus-based governance model that now manages countries with 'starkly different economic profiles and strategic priorities'.
• BRICS manages internal disagreements through three primary mechanisms: removing divisive issues from the agenda (such as territorial disputes or the Ukraine conflict), using diluted language to avoid practical commitments (as seen in UNSC reform discussions), and employing long-term negotiation processes for critical issues like alternative payment systems.
• Brazil's 2025 presidency attempted to address institutional deficits through a proposed Task Force on Institutional Development, but the resulting Rio Declaration only recorded 'ongoing efforts' to revise terms of reference, reflecting a cautious approach to structural change.
• There is a stark contrast between the operational effectiveness of the New Development Bank (NDB), which uses a formal treaty-based structure and has disbursed over $30 billion, and the broader BRICS framework, which lacks a centralized repository for agreements and suffers from 'continuity deficits'.
• The creation of a 'partner country' category as a compromise to slow the pace of full membership expansion has introduced a hierarchical dynamic that may undermine the bloc's egalitarian ethos.
• The authors recommend six specific areas for incremental reform: establishing a common database for institutional memory, creating standardized integration protocols for new members, defining the role of partner countries, rationalizing the 184 existing cooperation mechanisms, formalizing presidency transition protocols, and coordinating external representation in global forums.

APA

DÓRIA, T., & DE CARVALHO, G. (2025). Life After Expansion: The BRICS Quest for Institutional Coherence. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/SAIIA_PI_168_LifeAfterExpansionBRICS.pdf

Chicago

DÓRIA, THAÍS, and GUSTAVO DE CARVALHO. Life After Expansion: The BRICS Quest for Institutional Coherence. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2025. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/SAIIA_PI_168_LifeAfterExpansionBRICS.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=DÓRIA |first1=THAÍS |last2=DE CARVALHO |first2=GUSTAVO |title=Life After Expansion: The BRICS Quest for Institutional Coherence |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=August 2025 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/SAIIA_PI_168_LifeAfterExpansionBRICS.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{dria2025life, author = {DÓRIA, THAÍS and DE CARVALHO, GUSTAVO}, title = {{Life After Expansion: The BRICS Quest for Institutional Coherence}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2025}, month = aug, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/SAIIA_PI_168_LifeAfterExpansionBRICS.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }