BRICS Membership Becomes a Way to Signal Non-Commitment

If the purpose of the BRICS group — originally Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa — is to amplify its members' global influence, it may be having some effect. Looming geopolitical divisions are forcing countries to declare who their friends are, and the BRICS membership is growing.

At a more practical level, the group is still far short of a genuine political or economic bloc. The close of the latest BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, this week marks 15 years of regular meetings — which have accomplished almost nothing

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From this perspective, a core of BRICS members do share a common interest, said Richard Fontaine, CEO of the Centre for a New American Security thinktank. “They want an alternative payment mechanism because they want less sensitivity to US sanctions,” he said. “The Chinese are increasingly trying to have energy shipments come overland, not seaborne where they are vulnerable. These countries are defending themselves against what they see as Western domination, and they’re determined to do something.”

In this context, joining the BRICS denotes being friendly with China and Russia.

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