BRICS economies

The SCO and BRICS summits indicate Russia retains sufficient value to China, India and other non-Western powers to pursue its war objectives. Europe needs to adjust to that reality.

So will disagreement over the purpose of BRICS.

India is hoping a new democratically elected government in Bangladesh will help improve bilateral relations. But identity politics in both countries could derail progress.

It will become increasingly hard for the Modi government to offset foreign policy setbacks with domestic successes as the full impact of US tariffs starts to bite.

Now could be the time to ratchet up sanctions pressure on Putin and change Moscow’s risk analysis of prolonging the war.

US tariffs and other factors are bringing China and India closer together. But contentious issues remain.

Trump is using Brazil to send a warning to other assertive middle powers. But the attack on a sovereign country’s democratic institutions risks damaging the United States’ global standing.

Not all BRICS members are interested in the bloc being used by Russia and China to reshape the global order.

India’s balancing act between the West and the Global South demonstrates the agility of its foreign policy. But this act is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain in a fragmented global order.

Brazil wants to pursue an important multilateral agenda. But an expanded membership’s reaction to the war may tilt the group away from Rio’s long-standing goals.

China and other BRICS nations have a golden opportunity to take control where the US retreats. But a more fragmented and uncertain world looks more likely.

Ahead of Chatham House’s London Conference, director Bronwen Maddox writes that a major theme will be how countries are adapting to the shifting global roles of the United States and China.

US tariffs could hurt the South African economy, but Pretoria is already leveraging its energy transition to attract support from the EU and other partners.

New Delhi and Jakarta share many development challenges and foreign policy objectives. But despite last week’s summit, there remain several challenges to realizing the full potential of the bilateral relationship.

The pretence of cooperation is over as Beijing prepares for America’s next president.

Chinese engagement with Africa is on an uptick after a period of decline.

The informal group of emerging markets may lack coherence, but ending the dollar’s dominance has become a theme – and digital currency innovations offer interesting possibilities, writes David Lubin.

Brazil’s president is likely to target ‘softer’ issues at this November’s gathering – but, analysts tell James Orr, his agenda to raise $250 billion from the super-rich and boost the Global South is ambitious.

Last week’s plenum was light on substance, but even if the CCP had been clearer about its intentions, we might still be none the wiser about the direction of policy.

The Chinese Communist Party’s anticipated meeting represents another step towards top-down economic governance and achieving scientific-self-reliance under President Xi.

Candidates to be Iran’s next president are quick to play down the special friendship that was sought by president Raisi.

Dr Fareed Zakaria, host of CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS, in conversation with Chatham House director Bronwen Maddox.

Respected economists believe New Delhi’s priority should be developing the services sector. But geopolitical competition with China will keep manufacturing at the forefront.

Russia makes a growing contribution to China’s economy. And the war in Ukraine helps Beijing undermine US diplomacy.

Russia’s courting of the Global South goes beyond an attempt to avoid sanctions. It is seeking to de-Westernize the global order.

As money and influence shift eastwards, the Euro-Atlantic world must engage with Global South institutions to remain relevant, writes Arif Lalani.

America and Europe must respect the growing status of individual states, invest in long-term relationships and consider Security Council reform, writes Catherine Ashton.

Many countries are shaking off old allegiances to the West and enjoying new wealth, influence and optimism, writes Kishore Mahbubani.

The increasing power, confidence and reach of the Global South are undeniable. In this issue, we examine how its countries are allying in new blocs and institutions, why the West urgently needs to change course, whether the Commonwealth will rise to the moment – and much more.

From a year of elections, to multiple summits, as well as conflict hotspots and debt burdens, 2024 will bring mixed fortunes for the African continent.

Relations between China and India hold great long-term significance for the future of both Asia and the emerging global order. This paper details their relationship and why their competition for influence and status matters to the rest of the world.

For Western governments, India’s status as the world’s largest democracy is one of the key pillars for engagement with New Delhi, even though India rarely uses democracy promotion as an overt tool of its foreign policy. There is potential, too, for an erosion of India’s democratic credentials to limit the scope for cooperation in particularly sensitive areas, and to raise questions about India’s claim to offer a worldview that is non-Western but not explicitly anti-Western.

This paper assesses plans for investment in a sustainable economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic, and examines how such efforts could transform international development cooperation.

In 2021 G7 leaders pledged to build back a better world. They now need to redouble their efforts to make sure that this ambition is fulfilled.

The international community must partner effectively with Brazilian stakeholders to conserve the Amazonian forest and foster sustainable economic development.

The paper proposes a definition of sustainable procurement so goods, services, works and utilities achieve value for money on a life-cycle basis.

Critics of the BRI accuse China of pursuing a policy of ‘debt-trap diplomacy’: luring poor, developing countries into agreeing unsustainable loans to pursue infrastructure projects so that, when they experience financial difficulty, Beijing can seize the asset, thereby extending its strategic or military reach.

China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is having profound impacts on recipient countries. This paper examines the benefits and costs of the BRI and its projects to Sri Lanka and the lessons that may improve future BRI projects in Sri Lanka and elsewhere.

Many middle powers have been warning of the dangers inherent in the decline of the liberal international order. The time has come for these countries to translate their warnings into concerted action.