What Are the BRICS Good For? by Joseph S. Nye, Jr. - Project Syndicate


Despite BRICS' expansion and growing global population representation, its potential to become a dominant force in world politics is questionable due to internal divisions and lack of true representativeness.
AI Summary available — skim the key points instantly. Show AI Generated Summary
Show AI Generated Summary

Following the addition of new members to the BRICS, some observers believe that the group has a good chance of becoming the new lodestar of global politics and international affairs. But the organization is neither representative enough nor sufficiently united to lead others.

CAMBRIDGE – One question that 2025 may begin to answer is whether the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) is becoming the new center of power in world politics. Now that the group has added new members (Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates) and come to represent 45% of the world population, some believe that it is consolidating the (misleadingly named) “Global South” and posing a serious challenge to American and Western power. But I remain skeptical of such claims.

🧠 Pro Tip

Skip the extension — just come straight here.

We’ve built a fast, permanent tool you can bookmark and use anytime.

Go To Paywall Unblock Tool
Sign up for a free account and get the following:
  • Save articles and sync them across your devices
  • Get a digest of the latest premium articles in your inbox twice a week, personalized to you (Coming soon).
  • Get access to our AI features

  • Save articles to reading lists
    and access them on any device
    If you found this app useful,
    Please consider supporting us.
    Thank you!

    Save articles to reading lists
    and access them on any device
    If you found this app useful,
    Please consider supporting us.
    Thank you!