{"id":4339,"date":"2026-10-28T09:28:49","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T09:28:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kingmakersiasacademy.com\/current-affairs\/?p=4339"},"modified":"2026-10-31T09:35:48","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T09:35:48","slug":"brics-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kingmakersiasacademy.com\/current-affairs\/brics-3\/","title":{"rendered":"BRICS"},"content":{"rendered":"<blockquote>\n<table style=\"font-size: 16px; font-style: normal;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><b>SYLLABUS: International Relations<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>General Studies \u2013 :\u00a0 II <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and\/or affecting India\u2019s interests.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><b>IN NEWS:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> New Delhi\u2019s \u2018balancing act\u2019 risks eroding Russia\u2019s trust<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>QUESTION: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cBRICS and the SCO provide India with platforms to advance a multipolar world order, but their expanding membership also complicates consensus-building.\u201d Discuss. (15 marks, 250 words)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>ANSWER: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>BRICS<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and expanded members) and the <\/span><b>Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> serve as foundational multilateral platforms in India\u2019s multi-aligned foreign policy. They offer New Delhi significant strategic leverage to champion a <\/span><b>multipolar world order<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, reform global governance mechanisms, and project the voice of the Global South.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Platforms to Advance a Multipolar World Order<\/b><\/h2>\n<h3><b>1. Rebalancing Global Financial Infrastructure (BRICS)<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Alternative Financing &amp; De-Dollarization:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Through the <\/span><b>New Development Bank (NDB)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA), BRICS provides developing nations with non-conditional infrastructure financing, bypassing the stringent conditionality&#8217;s of the IMF and World Bank.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Local Currency Settlements:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Promoting trade in local currencies reduces vulnerability to Western financial sanctions and unilateral sanctions, fostering economic multipolarity.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>2. Eurasian Security and Counter-Terrorism Coordination (SCO)<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Regional Security Architecture:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The SCO provides a structured platform to address non-traditional security threats in Eurasia through the <\/span><b>Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Central Asian Connectivity:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> It allows India to maintain direct engagement with Central Asian republics, securing vital energy corridors, land transport routes (like INSTC), and strategic footprint without relying on Western routes.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>3. Reform of Global Governance &amp; Global South Leadership<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>UNSC and IMF Reforms:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Both forums consistently call for democratizing the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and Bretton Woods institutions to reflect contemporary geopolitical realities.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Vanguard of the Global South:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> India leverages these platforms alongside its G20 leadership to frame policies on climate finance, digital public infrastructure (DPI), and supply-chain resilience tailored to developing nations.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>4. Direct Bilateral Engagement and Strategic Autonomy<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Diplomatic Cushioning:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Membership ensures crucial strategic space to engage directly with China and Russia, preventing total isolation or single-bloc dominance. It allows India to practice &#8220;evasive balancing&#8221; and safeguard its <\/span><b>strategic autonomy<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> while simultaneously participating in Western-led forums like the Quad.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Challenges posed by Expanding Membership and Consensus-Building<\/b><\/h2>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Dimension<\/b><\/td>\n<td><b>Scope of Expansion<\/b><\/td>\n<td><b>Primary Consensus-Building Challenges<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><b>BRICS Expansion<\/b><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Addition of Iran, UAE, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, etc.<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ideological variance; risk of turning into an explicit &#8220;anti-West&#8221; coalition driven by China-Russia-Iran.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><b>SCO Expansion<\/b><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Inclusion of Pakistan, Iran, and Belarus<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Importation of bilateral conflicts into multilateral agenda; focus diverted from consensus security goals.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h3><b>1. Divergent Strategic Visions: &#8220;Non-Western&#8221; vs. &#8220;Anti-Western&#8221;<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Ideological Friction:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> India views BRICS and the SCO as <\/span><b>&#8220;non-Western&#8221;<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> forums aimed at reforming multilateralism. Conversely, China, Russia, and Iran increasingly seek to weaponize these groupings into <\/span><b>&#8220;anti-Western&#8221;<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> geopolitical blocs targeting US hegemony.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Loss of Strategic Neutrality:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> An explicitly anti-Western pivot risks alienating India&#8217;s key economic and strategic partners in the West (e.g., US, EU, Japan).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>2. Dilution of Consensus and Institutional Efficacy<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Heterogeneity of Interests:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Expanding from cohesive core groups to broad, diverse coalitions makes unanimity on key joint declarations increasingly difficult. Member states bring conflicting economic systems, foreign policy priorities, and security alignments.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Bilateral Disputes Hijacking Agendas:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The inclusion of rival states (e.g., India-Pakistan in SCO, Iran-Saudi dynamics in expanded formats) leads to structural impasses, blocking substantive joint initiatives in trade and counter-terrorism.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>3. China-Centric Hegemony and Asymmetry<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Economic Overshadowing:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> China\u2019s massive economic weight creates asymmetrical influence within the New Development Bank and Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects linked to the SCO.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Countering Unipolarity within Multipolarity:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> India faces the challenge of preventing a transition from a Western-dominated unipolar world to an Asia\/Eurasia order dominated by Beijing.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Way Forward\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Firm Stance on &#8220;Non-Western&#8221; Identity:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Anchor both organizations around developmental agendas, economic cooperation, and institutional reform rather than anti-Western rhetoric.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Criteria-Based Membership Norms:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Advocate for strict, institutionalized criteria for further expansion or dialogue-partner additions to prevent systemic paralysis.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Core Principles in Joint Declarations:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Mandate explicit recognition of territorial integrity, sovereignty, and zero tolerance for state-sponsored cross-border terrorism in all joint SCO\/BRICS communiqu\u00e9s.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Leveraging Multi-Alignment:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Continue balancing BRICS and SCO engagements with active participation in Western\/Indo-Pacific platforms (Quad, I2U2, G7 invitee status) to maintain maximum strategic flexibility.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<blockquote><p><b>PYQ REFERENCE UPSC 2023<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;BRICS acts as a powerful counterweight in global governance, actively amplifying the voice and influence of the Global South.&#8221; Explain the role of BRICS in projecting itself as an alternative to other groupings. (15 Marks \/ 250 Words)\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><b>SOURCE: <a href=\"https:\/\/epaper.thehindu.com\/ccidist-ws\/th\/th_international\/issues\/211092\/OPS\/G82GMGDS2.1+G1OGNIA0U.1.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Hindu epaper &#8211; New Delhi\u2019s \u2018balancing act\u2019 risks eroding Russia\u2019s trust<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SYLLABUS: International Relations General Studies \u2013 :\u00a0 II Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and\/or affecting India\u2019s 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