Digesting the Alphabet Soup: a Comparative Institutional History of IBSA and BRICS

Abstract

The BRICS Grouping (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and the IBSA Dialogue Forum (India, Brazil and South Africa)represent interregional cooperative mechanisms of increasing importance in international relations. This can be attributed to the recent rise of the global South, placing unprecedented emphasis on South–South cooperation. With three members in common, the necessity for and contribution of both IBSA and BRICS are often called into question. IBSA’s two-year successive postponement of its annual summit, five of which have taken place thus far, has prompted questions regarding the continued relevance of an organisation which in many ways is viewed as duplicating the functions of BRICS. Combined with the fact that BRICS contains the political-economic weight of Russia and China (permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and Nuclear Superpowers), the future of IBSA is doubted by some. To determine the future of IBSA, it is important to examine how it differs from BRICS in terms of capacity, priorities and political character. (…)