The BRICS Test For India’s Multipolarity Rhetoric

Relevance: GS 2 - Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

(Source: The Hindu, 08/22/23)

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Why in the news?

• The article explores India's dilemma of simultaneously engaging with various groups while safeguarding its national interests and navigating the complexities of an evolving geopolitical landscape.
• The 15th BRICS summit will be held in Johannesburg, South Africa.
• The summit is significant because it will be the first in-person meeting since 2019 and the COVID-19 pandemic, the first since the Russian war in Ukraine, and the first time that Mr. Modi and Mr. Xi will take part in such a restricted gathering of just four leaders since the LAC stand-off began in 2020.
• Moreover, it will discuss the expansion of the grouping by including countries like Iran, Bangladesh, and other developing economies

What is leading to an increase in the relevance of forum’s like BRICS?

• BRICS holds the potential for shaping future world politics, the recent global developments and challenges faced by the United Nations have rekindled the relevance of BRICS.
• Lack of inclusivity: BRICS is more globally represented than the UN Security Council (UNSC) and the G-7, though less than the G-20 which is dominated by the West.
• Therefore, the choices that BRICS makes could have major implications for the international system.
• Deficit in global governance: The existing global governance structures are often criticized for being undemocratic and unrepresentative. This has created a void in addressing the concerns and interests of many countries, prompting the need for alternative platforms.
• The interest of around 40 countries in an expanded BRICS reflects the global South's frustration and discontent with their global position.
• Global geopolitical uncertainty: Amid global uncertainty and shifting orders, BRICS serves as a platform for nations to strategize, interpret geopolitics, and influence outcomes. Recent events like the Ukraine conflict and China's rise have revived BRICS' significance, making it a key arena for international collaboration.

New Delhi’s dilemmas

• Addressing Historical Inequities: India’s active participation in non-western multilateral forums such as BRICS, SCO, and global South must be seen as India’s response to the undemocratic and inequitable governance structures of post-Second World War institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the UNSC. However, it is not to create or belong to an anti-U.S./West bloc either.
• Developmental, historical, and geographical context: India's alignment with BRICS, SCO, and the global South is a natural fit given its developmental, historical, and geographical context. However, China's dominant presence in these forums introduces complexities, hindering India's perfect fit.
• Strategic Aspirations and Structural Hurdles: Aspirations towards G-20, G-7, and Quad reflect India's structural and aspirational goals. However, achieving significant influence in these influential forums remains a formidable challenge.

Challenges

• Geopolitical faultline: India is located right in the middle of an emerging geopolitical faultline with interests on either side, welcomed by either side, but fully belonging to neither.
• This could either make India a bridge between the great divides or its lack of loyalty to neither could make it a victim of emerging geopolitical contestations.
• Rise of competing blocs in the international system: China and Russia are forging alliances that could lead to a clash between their affiliated organizations and the established U.S.-led order. This alignment poses a challenge to the existing status quo.
• Against multipolarity: The Indian historical notion of multipolarity emphasizes equity, inclusion and representation, not bloc rivalry, ideological or otherwise. despite its strong resistance to bloc politics, New Delhi will inevitably find itself pulled into such dynamics

The China question

• Promotion of Chinese interests: While a multi-polar world requires alternative forums and de-dollarization attempts, these efforts can also benefit China and its currency.
• Divergence of interests: Despite finding value in non-western institutions, ultimate Indian and Chinese objectives diverge.
• China's influence in expanded BRICS due to its size, economic clout, and initiatives like the Belt and Road poses a challenge for India, which lacks comparable resources.
• India's efforts to strengthen non-western institutions may indirectly support China's revisionist agenda and weaken the post-World War II order.

Way forward

• Balance global governance and national interest: India must promote a more representative and equitable global governance on the one hand and ensure that such an order does not end up undercutting its own national interests.
• Moderate Chinese influence: India needs to balance curbing China's influence in non-western forums while not isolating other global South nations that find value in China's forum expansion efforts.
• New Delhi faces a complex challenge of simultaneously asserting itself in non-western forums like BRICS and SCO, countering China's growing influence, addressing Western norms, and securing a place in Eurocentric groups like UNSC and G-7.
• The challenge before India is to choose between a China-centric world order or a West- centric world order, or balance the two. If the latter is too preachy for India, the former is too Machiavellian.

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FAQs

MCQ

A similar question can be asked on BRICS

Question: With reference to the “G20 Common Framework”, consider the following statements: (UPSC-2020)

1. It is an initiative endorsed by the G20 together with the Paris Club.
2. It is an initiative to support Low-Income Countries with unsustainable debt.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2