The BRICS and the International Development System: Challenge and Convergence?

Abstract

The sustained growth of rising powers, including the grouping known as the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) is reshaping global governance arrangements. Annual BRICS summits and inter-ministerial meetings seek to reform existing international financial and economic institutions and promote a multipolar system of global order. The BRICS are also gaining prominence amongst 'emerging donors', building on a tradition of South-South development cooperation, which has grown outside the framework of the OECD Development Assistance Committee. As Southern donors become major players, and with the potentially significant role of a new BRICS Development Bank, what might a polycentric international development system look like and what are the policy implications?