BRICS Series | Part 1: A Message to the West

An intricate plan to dethrone the United States dollar as the dominant global currency, or a pathway to a more interconnected world? A deep dive into the BRICS economic bloc members.

Apr 08, 2025

The BRICS Summit 2024: An Expanding Alternative | Council of Councils

16th Annual BRICS Summit 2024

What is BRICS?

BRICS is an informal grouping of emerging economies hoping to have increased their power in the global order, whilst being formally announced in 2009, but conceived in thought years prior.1 The concept of BRICS was founded on the premise that international institutions were over dominated by Western powers and had ceased to serve developing countries.2 Through this the economic bloc they have sought to coordinate their members’ economic and diplomatic policies, with the founding of new financial institutions, and a reduction in their dependence on the U.S. dollar.3 Despite this, there are still internal divisions within BRICS, such as, the United States and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, creating tensions between nations involved.4 In the same note, additional member-nations within BRICS+ include Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan, & Nigeria.5

By 2005, there had been several BRICs-themed mutual funds, ETFs, and indexes, created to track the groups of these emerging economies, all leading up to the first annual BRIC Summit in 2009.6 In 2006, BRICs member nations had lent to the US in dollars with the concept that the United States would generate the demand growth that the world needs.7 Around this time, the Bush Administration had the intent of cutting the fiscal deficit by the year 2009, but the policies implemented were sufficiently thin; reinforcing the US international spending.8 An IMF study suggested that by reducing the fiscal deficit by 1% of GDP would only bring it down by 0.2% or 0.4% of the U.S. current account deficit, implying that bringing the Federal budget into balance would only reduce it from 7.0% to 5.9%.9 Several countries have become increasingly dependent on United States exports to help fuel their economic growth, with an ever looming question of eventual reduction in U.S. relative demand for imports.10 The Federal Reserve mainly focuses on inflation and employment, rather than the composition of output or the risks created if demand growth surpasses income growth.11

BRICS Development

BRICS is a conglomeration of several emerging economies throughout the globe, with it’s main members consisting of the nations, Brazil, Russia, India, China, & South Africa.12 This bloc has rapidly expanded diplomatic activities by advocating a larger voice in the global economy and security forum, and creating brand new financial institutions, with it initially excluding
South Africa.13 Its earlier iterations were from Goldman Sachs which had then turned into an institution consisting of members China India, & Russia from the 2008 Group of 8 meeting in St. Petersburg.14 The Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research Division published the report in 2001, “Build Better Global Economic BRICs,” depicting those four member nations as drivers of future economic growth.15 Another paper released in 2003, “Dreaming with BRICs: The Path to 2050,” posited that the member nations would overtake the largest Western economies by 2039.16

Brazil

The country of Brazil is Latin America’s largest and most influential country, with a long-term participation as a leadership role of the region, leading to increased economic and diplomatic might of hemisphere integration.17 As a result, it has sought for a larger voice for developing nations with its interactions on the world stage through its active membership in the United Nations and other multilateral institutions.18 Brazil had then furthered its partnerships on the international realm by working with countries such as China, India, and Russia to develop alternative forums. 19 During this timeframe of a decade, their had been several economic upheavals and corruption scandals that impacted a large amount of the political establishment, hindering the countries goals.20 Given Jair Bolsonaro’s campaigning on a nationalistic ideal of “Brazil above everything” slogan in order to regain the country’s sovereignty, further exacerbating domestic inequalities.21 The country, though, is the largest and most influential country in South America, accounting for the majority of several aspects of the continents populace, landmass, and gross domestic product (GDP).22

Ever since the 2008 Global Financial Crisis that spurred from the the 2008 US Great Recession, Brazil has gained a more prominent voice amongst global trade and energy issues.23 The reason Brazil had managed to recover so quickly was due to it strong exports of industrial and agricultural goods, leading to a further pursuance of greater influence in international forums.24 At the same time, it fostered cooperation amongst countries in the developing world with Southern Hemisphere initiatives.25 Then with a new spotlight of Brazil hosting the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics, as a result, accelerating it economics development in preparation for the events.26 This then creates a dynamic where the United States can benefit from a stronger Brazil, as a partner on energy as well as regional security initiatives but must be careful on its relations.27 The United States must be wary not to view this as a challenge, or, during a time of great economic turmoil, as well as its neglect of the relationship.28

The interactions with the United States and Brazil should include aspects of similar domestic challenges to establish common ground between the two nations, such as education for all, innovation in STEM, access to quality public healthcare, and infrastructure.29 The United States should also expect that Brazil’s expression of the shared values of free markets, rule of law, individual rights, religious freedom, and diversity and equality to be radically different.30 As a result, the designated UNSC Task Force also expects Brazil will define its national interests independently from the United States, with no decision of where and how Brazil will engage on the international level.31 Through a mature partnership where U.S. Policymakers need to have a mature working relationship to tackle of bilateral and global issues.32 The United States as a country, must begin to incorporate the prospects for cooperation with Brazil, requiring coordinated policies.33

Brazil maintains a growing geostrategic importance requires sustained, senior-level, and comprehensive coordination of United States policy across multiple agencies to remain effective.34 There is however caution when it incorporates Brazil into high-level U.S. policy discussions when left to regional directorates or bureaus throughout the executive branch agencies or regional subcommittees in the Congress.35 Through the utilization of interagency coordination such as the National Security Council, there may be better coordination in a highly decentralized U.S.-Brazil policy, requiring an NSC director for Brazil.36 The United States would have several agencies responsible for finance, trade, energy, environment, agriculture, health, homeland security, defense, and diplomacy.37 As a result, recommendation to aid in this would be to create an Office for Brazilian Affairs that is separate from the Southern Cone office of the Western Hemisphere Affairs bureau.38 Through this, a strengthen U.S.-Brazil relationship may aid in the economic growth in Brazil, as well as establishing lasting peace and democratic stability for progress on combatting climate change, the development of global renewable energy market, and more effective international institutions.39

Russia

In early 2014, after Russia’s annexation of Crimea, resulting from the prior year of protests against Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych’s rejection of a deal for greater economic integration with the European Union; which was met with a violent crackdown by state security.40 A month after Yanukovych had fled the country, Russian special forces had taken control of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, with the “need to protect the rights of Russian citizens, Russian speakers in Crimea and southeast Ukraine.”41 Through the formal annexation of the peninsula after Crimeans voted to join the Russian Federation, in dispute of local referendums.42 As a result, heightened ethnic divisions had spiraled in pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk held independence referendums.43

On July 8-9th 2015, the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, had host the 7th BRICS summit, in Ufa, with aims to pursue five priorities:44

Strengthen International Peace & Security
Facilitate Multilateral Financial Cooperation & Reform the International Financial System
Enhance Trade & Economic Cooperation
Expand Social Cooperation of the BRICS countries
Deepen Humanitarian Interaction

During this timeframe, Russia had been especially keen on the first three priorities with two overarching goals of broadening political cooperation and strengthening the economy.45 Through the initial Russo-Ukraine conflict that had occurred in 2014 and the Group of 8 (G8) conversion to the Group of 7 (G7), with Russia expanding on programs to respond to security- cyber warfare -threats.46 This ultimately shows that the BRICS bloc is united not only by common interests in social and economic development and global configuration, but also to reshape international relations.47 Ultimately, this message translates to three separate strategic interests:

Strengthening international law and the centrality of the United Nations
Enhancing economic cooperation among its members to boost socioeconomic development
Gradually transforming the BRICS into a coordinated body capable of tackling strategic issues.48

In October of 2021, there had been months of intelligence gathered of Russian troop movements, force build-up, and military contingency financing with briefings to the White House by U.S. Intelligence.49 From November and December 2021, there had been publish intelligence of armor, missiles, and other heavy weaponry moving toward Ukraine with no official explanation from the Kremlin; with the largest deployment of Russian troops since the end of the Cold War.50 In February of 2022, Russia had launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with Russia now currently occupying 20% of the country after gaining 4 squared km from territory gained in 2024.51 Since January 2022, Ukraine had received around $407 billion in aid, including $118 billion from the United States, sadly, with the toll being 40,000+ civilian casualties, 4 million displaced people, and 6.8 million fleeing from Ukraine.52 President Trump’s negotiating team had met with Russia in Saudi Arabia without any Ukrainian or European participation, with concerns of the administration striking a deal without Ukraine’s consent.53

In the fifteenth BRICS summit, in 2023, there had been several advancements that had been made to modernize and galvanize the overall economic bloc, with the strong sense of a order of multipolar reality and changing with the times.54 The West’s utilization of unilateral financial sanctions, abuse international payment mechanisms, renege on climate finance commitments, and neglected the Global South during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulted in further unrest.55 As a result, there had been an expansion of the BRICS to a BRICS+ with further prevailing membership with traditionally “acceptable” partners in nearby regions.56 Through this, these partners may tap into new systems of cooperation that the BRICS had been attempting to set up in the international realm, with a hype of a common BRICS currency; through a concept of trading in national currencies.57 Around this time, India had begun utilizing the rupee-designated oil transaction between the UAE, showing the reduced dependency on the U.S Dollar, through commodity exporters and importers.58

India

India has played a pivotal role in a strategic balancing act that aligns with the BRICS bloc vision of a multipolar world order, as a pathway to advance the interests of emerging economies while maintaining its strategic autonomy.59 Given this understanding of BRICS, India is able to leverage advantages such as increasing influence over global governance reform, alternative financial mechanism and enhanced cooperation on issues of energy security, technology, and climate change.60 From the Kazan Declaration at the 2024 BRICS Summit, there had been a call for the reform of the Bretton Woods institutions, enabling India to engage is development-focused diplomacy.61 This also serves as a platform for India’s addressment of perceived unfair global practices such as the European Union’s carbon border adjustment, economic concentration, and unilateral sanctions.62 Through new BRICS members, India’s involvement in the Chabahar Port project could enhance the connectivity between India, Iran, and Afghanistan, as an alternative to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.63

As a result, the BRICS offers support on financial matters while advocating for reform of international financial institutions and governance structures such as with BRICS enhancing economic ties and facilitating mutual trade.64 Through this, intra-BRICS trade had increased by 56 percent between 2017 and 2022, reaching a value of $614.8 billion as of 2022.65 With the breakout of the Russia-Ukraine War in 2022, this had resulted in sanctions being opposed onto Russia, leading to a surge in Russia’s trading partners in oil and gas.66 As the BRICS economic bloc had grown, oil-producing countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Iran, there had been a benefit with India for access to cheaper energy imports; strengthening economic linkages.67 India has maintained their strong bilateral relations with the western powers, while partnering and deepening relationships with anti-western BRICS members, such as Russia and Iran.68 Through balancing these allies in Quad and BRICS in multi-alignment, allows India to benefit from its security and economic relations with Russia with cheap oil, trade, and fighter jet engines; while also facilitating security cooperation with United States.69

Within the BRICS bloc, India had faced several challenges within the forum, ranging from external and internal factors from different priorities on the topic of geopolitical tensions, such as with Russia.70 In this scenario, Russia has repeated pushed for alternatives to the IMF and a BRICS rating agency, all of which being met with hesitation from other members.71 Thus Russia’s actions in Ukraine had shown the cracks in the levels of the bloc’s anti-western unity, as “India has always believed that the path to peace lies through dialogue and diplomacy.72 Brazil has been critical of Russia’s actions in Ukraine, with a call for great accountability, while India has remained neutral and maintaining a diplomatic stance.73 As a result of India trying to maintain the BRICS bloc as nonwestern, preventing the framing of the group being labelled as anti-western alliance, making sure it doesn’t become overly China-centric.74

Between India and China, there are a set of complex challenges with different region strategic interests occurring with a large historical context of border disputes.75 Through this, there are underlying tensions regarding regional security and global governance issues, with other member nations of the bloc being unable to surpass China in infrastructure and trade.76 As of the BRICS Summit in Kazan in October 2024, leaders Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping have met in person to focus on their discussions, after 5 years of high-level interactions.77 Prior to the BRICS Summit, there had been an agreement of patrolling along the Line of Actual Control with a potential of returning to the pre-Galwan status quo.78

China

China has played a large role in Latin America and the Caribbean, through promising of economic opportunity, but thus raising further concerns of Beijing’s influence over the region.79 As a result, China’s state firms are major investors in the regions energy, infrastructure, and space industries, expanding its cultural, diplomatic, and military presence through the region.80 In more recent years, China had celebrated the opening of a new mega-port in Peru as a part of its global Belt and Road Initiative.81 The United States and its allies have perceived this as Beijing using these relationships to isolate Taiwan and bolster authoritarian regimes such as Cuba and Venezuela.82 Given the reelection of Donald J. Trump, his actions towards regions such as Mexico, could have further international implications as it is framed as a confrontational approach to China.83

Once China had entered into the World Trade Organization, the country had began to form robust cultural, economic, and political ties, largening their communities amongst Latin America.84 Such Latin countries are Brazil, Cuba, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela with the largest Chinese diaspora communities.85 From such increased market trade, China’s rapid growth had resulted in commodities boom, with it reaching $450 billion in 2021 and economists predicting the value exceeding $700 billion by 2035.86 China’s outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) in addition to loans played a major role in strengthening ties in the region, all amounting close to $9 billion or around 6 percent of China’s total OFDI.87

Through all of this, the state-owned China Development Bank and Export-Import Bank of China are leading lenders in the region, in which Latin American and Caribbean governments had been loaned $120 billion in exchange for oil to fund energy and infrastructure projects.88 There are several growing concerns about these growing economic ties with the sense of Latin American governments, with China’s loans often have fewer conditions, leading to a dependency on them.89 Such instances has left unstable countries such as Venezuela into debt traps that can result in default, leading to several Latin American countries seeking to renegotiate the terms.90 There is also an understanding that Chinese companies are bringing lower environmental and labor standards, leading to a growing control over critical infrastructure.91 The fears of growing economic dependency in countries such as Chile due to the level of exploitation used by China.92

China has a desire to expand its sphere of influence through the South-South Cooperation, where there’s a developmental framework focused on aid, investment, and trade.93 This was through focusing on strengthening cultural and education ties, in which China was able to build political goodwill as an alternative to the United States and Europe.94 Through diplomatic meetings from President Xi Jinping to several Latin American regions had formed the comprehensive strategic partnerships with Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela.95 Other Chinese diplomatic tours occurring in South Africa, emphasizing the important role of the country economic bloc of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the UAE.96 From the offering of support to President Cyril Ramaphosa and the Government of National Unity, there is seemingly support that this “will advance China-Africa relations and usher in a new era of shared prosperity,” when referring to sites of the Belt and Road Initiative projects97

South Africa

At the end of March in 2012, the Indian government had hosted the annual BRICS summit, in which South Africa had been formally invited to join the economic bloc.98 Through a formal invitation from the Chinese premier Hu Jintao to South African president Jacob Zuma, it has suggested that the nation has moved away from the idealistic “second found,” to embrace cynical foreign policy.99 South Africa’s perception of foreign policy is that one that protections of fundamental human rights cedes the defense of absolute sovereignty and nonintervention, putting in favor of rising power members, thus damaging prospects of a permanent seat on the UN Security Council (UNSC) for South Africa.100 Pretoria, the Capital of South Africa, around this time had high hopes for expanding trade and investment with the then BRIC partners, with particular respect to the authoritarian regime of China.101 The region of South Africa faces internal development challenges, with the world’s worst levels of income inequality and massive crime, but remains adamant in their membership as validation and evidence of a change for their governance.102

The United States officials wonder if it is at all conceivable for UNSC enlargement, as Washington will only support members who maintain no uncertainty in their behavior before becoming a permanent member.103 Given how internal conduct of regimes can end up carrying tremendous risk for international security, we must adjust our view past outdated models of absolute sovereignty.104 Through the lens of the United States, the most problematic aspect would be the regional power’s reluctance to contemplate the use of force or coercive diplomacy.105 The conflict that is of particular addressment, would South Africa’s brutal order, through stopping endemic violence and restoring a semblance of trust between citizens and government.106 Democratic societies start to devolve into violence when governments are unable to control their force, and when trust between citizens and the state erode, such as South Africa.107

The violence that impacts democracies in and of itself is two-fold creation, when the states are too weak to sustain the rule of law and that political and economic elites manipulate budgets and policies in favor of particular communities.108 Such instances would be apartheid and state capture that had coordinated with violent groups, and actively erodes the criminal justice institutions with unchecked abuse, with this occurring in highly unequal societies.109 As a result of time, this violence saturates society and becomes a tool which people solve problems with friends and neighbors, with the state being unlikely to respond to calls for help or to hold people accountable.110 Citizens under these dynamics turn to vigilantism, community groups, gangs for security and justice, those who are able to afford to barricade their homes and employ private security.111

According to Kleinfeld, the leaders that would be capable of restoring a state’s monopoly of force and the ending of endemic violence must possess key traits:

Have a vision
Decisive
Employ Skilled Technocrats
Communicate with and are answerable to the public
Get the State working fast112

Through the utilization of intelligence and surveillance, informants and asset seizures to end impunity at the top, steering reform throughout government, the private sector, schools, clinics, streets, and homes, to have the most expansive reforms.113 Initiatives to reform the National Persecuting Authority and the State Security Agency to tackle corruption are required as it would then require rapidly forming the South African Police Service in intelligence and priority crimes.114 Through this, police service should respond swiftly and fairly when people call on police for help and when there is a requirement for state intervention, when South Africans believe the state is responsive, then trust will grow.115 As a result, individuals will pay taxes, thus rendering the government to improve the economy and deliver much-need services, including violence prevention initiatives.116

Conclusion:

The BRICS economic bloc consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa provides a dynamic that liable to fracture due to the severe differences in regimes with Russia and China, but with a seemingly strong cohesion. With Brazil being Latin America’s largest and most influential country, it is important in its might in hemisphere integration, but points to Brazil’s reliance on Russia and China as a show of neglect of U.S-Brazil relations. This is further complicated due to Russia’s war with Ukraine and the conduct committed over the past 11 years, putting further strain on dynamics within BRICS, with Brazil calling for accountability. Due to India’s view that “…the path to peace lies through dialogue and diplomacy” the actions in Ukraine have been condemned, but at the same time focusing on challenges with China. From China’s investment into Latin America, it had led to unstable countries being put into a debt trap, which may result in default, while also losing environmental and labor standards, slowly controlling critical infrastructure. Political analyst, Dr. Michael Ndimancho, has pointed that, “…a lot of African countries joining because Africa wants a new world power that would crush the existing global power and some would join for reasons such as improving economies and trade.”

Key Aspects:

BRICS is an informal economic bloc that is composed of Brazil, Russia, India, China, & recently South Africa.
The goal of BRICS is to expand and include several developing countries into their internationally set up financial institutions.
- China Development Bank
- Export-Import Bank of China
  - Several growing concerns about growing economic ties, with China’s loans having fewer conditions, leading to a dependency.
Composed of two vibrant democratic nations, India and Brazil, and two authoritarian regimes, China and Russia.

Brazil:

Largest and Most Influential Country in Latin America
Sought for larger voice for developing nations through membership in the UN and other multilateral institutions.
Gained a more prominent voice in global trade and energy issues due to strong exports in industrial and agricultural goods.

India:

The nation plays a pivotal role in the strategic balancing act with the BRICS vision to advance interests of emerging economies.
Increased addressment of perceived unfair global practices such as the European Union’s carbon border adjustment, economic concentration, and unilateral sanctions.

China:

China is spreading its economic dominance and corporations into Latin America, while exploiting the environment and workers.
China’s state firms became major inestors in energy, infrastructure, and space industries.
- Leading to an increased cultural, diplomatic, and military presence.
Concerns regarding these growing economic ties, with the loans having fewer conditions, that have left other countries in debt traps.

Russia:

Russia has been in a consistent conflict with Ukraine since 2014, but has increased the intensity through invasion in 2022.
The nation under Vladimir Putin’s rule has been mainly focused on:
- Strengthening International Peace & Security
- Facilitating Multilateral Financial Cooperation & Reform the International Financial System
- Enhance Trade & Economic Cooperation

South Africa:

Relatively new member invited by the Indian government for the 2012 BRICS summit from Chinese premier, Hu Jintao, to S. African president Jacob Zuma.
The regions perception of foreign policy is that protections of fundamental human rights cedes the defense of absolute sovereignty and nonintervention
The United States thought it wasn’t conceivable for S. Africa to join the UNSC due to their brutal order and attempts to stop endemic violence
- Requiring a restoration of some semblance of trust between the citizens and the government.

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