World Affairs: The Journal of International Issues
Year : 2017, Volume : 21, Issue : 1
First page : ( 68) Last page : ( 79)
Print ISSN : 0971-8052. Online ISSN : 0974-0937.

The BRICS: A conjured conclave?

Rabbani Attar

Online published on 4 May, 2017.

Abstract

BRICS claims notwithstanding, the organisation has produced mediocre results so far, more so of its own making than because of external factors—it has lost much of its original burnish. BRICS was amongst the first organised attempts to challenge the existing politicoeconomic world order after the end of the Cold War. It had then been forecast that in about 10 years, BRICS would become the largest economic bloc in terms of gross domestic product output and the existing international economic architecture would be forced to undergo major change. In addition, it was predicted that BRICS could rival the G-7 by 2032. This paper however challenges the projected growth and influence of BRICS and argues that far from rivalling the G-7, BRICS could become a distant memory if growth figures decline across the spectrum. Geopolitics, entrenched structural complexities together with conflicting interests may pull apart the constituent units of the conclave sooner rather than later.

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