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IFANS Focus BRICS Expansion in 2023: A Beginning of Geopolitical Reshuffling? KANG Seonjou Upload Date 2023-12-18 Hits 1187
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1. What’s Behind BRICS Expansion?
2. Geopolitical and Geo-economic Implications of BRICS Expansion
3. Post-Expansion Challenges for BRICS
4. Conclusion

From August 22 to 24, 2023, BRICS - Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa - convened its 15th annual summit in Johannesburg, South Africa. The main agenda of this year’s summit was the expansion of BRICS by admitting new members and the introduction of a BRICS currency. Before the summit, reportedly, more than 40 countries expressed interest in joining BRICS and 23 countries officially applied for BRICS membership.1) On the final day of the summit, BRICS officially announced to invite six countries– Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)– to become full members starting from January 2024. However, there was no announcement regarding a BRICS currency.

Since BRICS has not made significant achievements, both internally and externally, over the past 15 years, the announcement of BRICS expansion came as a surprise to the international community which was skeptical about the possibility of BRICS expansion and a BRICS currency. Then, why does BRICS expansion matter and what does it signify to international relations in the years ahead?

To be upfront, the expansion of BRICS holds significant geopolitical and geo-economic implications as it symbolizes the expansion of a coalition that intends to counter the dominance of the U.S. and the West. The expansion of BRICS is likely to accelerate the blocization of the China-Russia coalition versus the U.S.-Western alliance, which emerged in the wake of U.S.-China competition for global hegemony and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It also likely increases fluidity and uncertainties in international relations, as economic and diplomatic relations become more leveraged. However, it remains to be seen whether or not such potential will be realized; it will depend on how well the expanded BRICS of 11 members overcomes its internal challenge.


* Attached Files #Geopolitics #BRICS #Geoeconomics #USChinaCompetition
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IFANS FOCUS 2023-11E (강선주).pdf
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