BRICS in a Fragmented World Order: A Test of Relevance

13 Oct 2026

Tags: International Relations   Groupings   Regional Agreements

Source: The Hindu

Context: The 18th BRICS Summit, held in New Delhi on September 12–13, 2026, adopted the New Delhi Declaration unanimously, despite differences among its 11 members, highlighting India’s diplomatic standing and its ability to build consensus.

Key Outcomes of the New Delhi Declaration

• Global governance reforms: Called for reforms in global institutions to reflect contemporary economic and demographic realities, with greater representation for developing countries.
• Trade and finance: Promoted local-currency trade, interoperable cross-border payment systems, the BRICS Economic Partnership Strategy 2030 and the Global Value Chain Action Plan (2026–2030).
• Multilateral institutions: Advocated reform of the United Nations (UN) and international financial institutions, including the Bretton Woods institutions, to strengthen the voice of developing economies.
• Trade multilateralism: Supported the World Trade Organization (WTO), the rules-based multilateral trading system and a two-tier WTO dispute settlement mechanism.
• Peace and security: Supported de-escalation in West Asia, humanitarian access to Gaza, Palestinian self-determination and a just, lasting settlement based on international law.
• Emerging issues: Addressed energy, climate change, health, agriculture and food security, adopting a pragmatic approach to cooperation.
• Artificial Intelligence (AI): Recognised AI’s potential to promote economic growth, improve public services and accelerate sustainable development; encouraged international cooperation in AI governance, computing resources, research, skills and innovation.

Political Message and India's Diplomatic Approach

• Multipolarity: Emphasised that global institutions inadequately reflect contemporary realities, necessitating a stronger voice for emerging markets and developing economies.
• Dialogue over confrontation: Favoured diplomacy, political solutions and consultation to resolve disputes, alongside respect for sovereignty, equality, openness and consensus.
• India’s strategic autonomy: The declaration was seen as consistent with India’s policy of strategic autonomy, multi-alignment and multi-vector engagement.
• Diplomatic significance: The participation of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin enhanced the summit’s visibility, while the participation of the UAE and Iran without mutual recriminations demonstrated the possibility of dialogue among countries with differences.
• India’s vision: Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for 10 proposals for global governance reform, emphasising that if the future is shared, all countries must have the right to shape it.
• Summit’s significance: The atmosphere of cooperation and consensus suggested progress towards substantive collaboration beyond diplomatic symbolism.

BRICS in a Changing International Order

• Rise of variable geometry: Contemporary international relations are increasingly characterised by flexible, issue-based partnerships rather than deep, enduring alliances. BRICS must operate within this changing reality.
• Pragmatic coalitions: States increasingly cooperate around shared interests rather than common values or long-term strategic intentions. Consequently, ad hoc cooperation and plurilateral arrangements are gaining prominence over universal multilateralism.
• Changing global order: The international economic and political order has undergone significant changes since the first BRIC summit at Yekaterinburg, Russia, in 2009, making sustained unity increasingly difficult.
• Possible future role: Rather than becoming obsolete, BRICS could evolve into a flexible coalition of willing countries that cooperate on selected issues without requiring complete strategic alignment.

Limitations and Unfulfilled Objectives of BRICS

• Institutional reform deficit: The original BRICS members—Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa—have yet to achieve their major demands for reform of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and UN.
• Limited financial autonomy: BRICS has not sufficiently reduced developing countries’ dependence on Western financial systems, limiting progress towards a genuinely multipolar order.
• Weak economic integration: Despite creating opportunities for trade, BRICS has not developed into a highly integrated economic bloc capable of substantially counterbalancing the dominance of the Bretton Woods institutions.
• Weak South–South cooperation: The grouping has not adequately strengthened cooperation among developing countries or consistently advanced a more democratic and equitable multipolar order.
• Limits of consensus: Unanimous declarations do not necessarily translate into implementation, particularly when members have conflicting economic and geopolitical interests.

The China Factor and Internal Imbalances

• China’s economic dominance: Since 2009, China’s economic strength and political influence have grown far beyond those of other BRICS members, creating an imbalance within the grouping.
• Changing global position: China’s growing economic and geopolitical power complicates its position as a champion of Global South interests, particularly when its interests diverge from those of other developing countries.
• Challenge to BRICS’ original agenda: China’s growing preponderance could undermine the grouping’s efforts to oppose Western hegemony if BRICS becomes increasingly shaped by the interests of a single dominant member.
• India–China tensions: Despite diplomatic efforts and the absence of another major conflict since the 2020 Galwan clashes, bilateral relations remain uneasy. This rivalry constrains BRICS’ ability to formulate and implement a common strategic agenda.
• Limits of collective action: The apparent calm at the New Delhi Summit should not obscure the grouping’s limited capacity to act in unison amid international disorder.
• India’s strategic challenge: BRICS membership does not automatically provide India with additional political or economic leverage, particularly when internal power asymmetries restrict collective action.
• Risk of irrelevance: Growing disparities in economic strength, political influence and strategic interests could weaken BRICS’ relevance despite the optimism surrounding the New Delhi Declaration.

Way Forward

• Move from declarations to implementation: Establish measurable targets, timelines and monitoring mechanisms for financial cooperation, trade and institutional reform.
• Strengthen economic integration: Expand local-currency settlements, interoperable payment systems, cross-border investment and resilient global value chains.
• Manage internal differences: Use dialogue and confidence-building measures to prevent bilateral disputes from paralysing collective initiatives.
• Promote inclusive multipolarity: Ensure that BRICS advances the interests of developing countries collectively rather than allowing internal power asymmetries to dominate its agenda.

Relevant Concepts for UPSC

• BRICS: An intergovernmental grouping that seeks to strengthen cooperation among emerging economies and reform global governance. It evolved from the original BRIC grouping, with South Africa joining in 2010; the expanded grouping now has 11 members.
• Bretton Woods institutions: The IMF and World Bank, established in the post-Second World War monetary and economic order. The IMF focuses on monetary cooperation and financial stability, while the World Bank primarily provides development finance.
• Strategic autonomy: A country’s ability to make independent foreign policy and security decisions based on its national interests rather than being constrained by a particular power bloc.
• Multilateralism vs. plurilateralism: Multilateralism involves cooperation among many countries within broad international frameworks, whereas plurilateralism involves a smaller group cooperating on specific issues, sometimes within a wider multilateral system.
• Thucydides Trap: The risk of conflict when a rising power challenges an established power. For India, the concept is relevant to the wider strategic implications of China’s rise, though it does not imply that conflict is inevitable.
• Kindleberger Trap: The risk of instability when an established power is unwilling or unable to provide global public goods and a rising power is not yet willing or able to assume that responsibility.