Why BRICS Is No Threat to the Post-war Liberal World Order

Abstract

BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) has emerged as a powerful economic group in the global economy and politics, apparently posing threats to the survival of the post-war liberal world order. Its member states (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) are seeking to democratize the post-war liberal world order to increase their shares of voting power in the decision-making processes of the Bretton Woods institutions and thus curb the USA’s dominance over global economic and financial architecture and eventually overhaul the US-led liberal world order. Contrary to the fear of many Western policymakers and analysts, this article contends that BRICS poses no credible threats to the US-led post-war order. The BRICS group’s potential to challenge or threaten the US-led world order is seriously undermined by the internal make-up of the group, its political and ideological heterogeneity, its incapacity to develop a collective world order vision salable to the wider international community and the lack of strong convergence in foreign policy goals and preferences.