More than 40 countries will join the Xi-Putin club. The researcher says this is not necessarily a bad thing.

Norway has many common interests with the BRICS countries, believes Nupi researcher Cedric de Kooning.

The three-day summit began on Tuesday brix: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The meeting will be held in one of its capitals, Johannesburg.

The political and economic cooperation in the BRICS group is not something to be trifled with. Together, 42% of the world’s population lives in these five countries. They account for a quarter of the world’s gross domestic product.

However, the group did not attract much international attention during the 14 years in which it was established. for now.

– Here the war in Ukraine plays a central role, says Cedric de Kooning. He is a researcher in newbiesnewbiesNorwegian Institute for Foreign Policy.

It is believed that the tensions between the major powers today are more pronounced than they were just a few years ago.

Now the five founders will debate whether the club should expand for the first time since South Africa joined in 2011.

More than 40 countries are said to have expressed interest, and 23 countries have sent a formal request, according to the report. Reuters.

Countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Argentina and Kazakhstan are on the list of applicants.

– It seems almost certain that they will now start taking in new members, says de Kooning.

We want a new world order

BRICS wants it to be counterweight To international forums and groups led by Western countries.

G7G7An international forum with members France, Canada, Italy, Germany, Japan, Great Britain and the United States. They are often classified as a similar “Western-led” group.

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are two institutions mentioned as well. They are financial institutions created by Western countries, known, among other things, for the neoliberal terms of loans and support, which have had disastrous consequences for many countries in Global SouthGlobal SouthThe Global South (or simply “the South”) is a term applied to countries in the world that have benefited relatively little from the tremendous advances in prosperity that have occurred in some countries in the past two hundred years..

The BRICS countries feel that they have been on the sidelines and outside decisions regarding the US-dominated world order. They want a new world order, without it dominantsdominantsDominance is a term that refers to leadership or a leadership position. In the political science study of international politics, the term is used to refer to a situation in which one country has a dominant position over one or more other countries, whether militarily, economically, or culturally. In such cases, the dominant power is referred to as a dominant power.where everyone ranks on an equal footing.

The BRICS countries have already created their own bank, and they are considering the idea of ​​a common currency that can do so Dollar challenge.

We do not want to blackmail the BRICS

In a discussion article in Aftenposten, historian Turkel Brycki writes that “beyond the celebratory speeches about financial and political justice, the BRICS are a club where authoritarian leaders meet like-minded people”.

Briki calls for the necessity of opposing the West to the BRICS group.

– A world in which the BRICS countries are given a leadership role is one in which democracy and human rights are treated worse, Breki writes.

Researcher Nupi does not quite agree with this. And if you ignore Russia, the BRICS countries are supportive of the United Nations and interested in international cooperation, according to de Kooning.

He believes there is no need to blackmail the BRICS as a group, even though Russia is a member.

The researcher believes that countries like Norway may have more common interests with some BRICS countries than the United States of America with a potential Trump administration, for example.

He believes that other BRICS countries do not support Russia’s war in Ukraine, and may feel some “anxiety” about it. Only Brazil officially condemned the war.

– But Russia can still join the gang as if nothing had happened?

The BRICS countries value their relationship with Russia for historical and geostrategic reasons. They prefer a diplomatic solution to the crisis.

And not just authoritarian regimes

Therefore, Bricky believes that BRICS is a club of authoritarian leaders. De Coning thinks it’s more versatile.

Brazil and South Africa are both defined as “free” by the Freedom House Democracy Index, achieving scores of 72 and 79, respectively, out of a total of 100 points in the measurement conducted in 2023. By comparison, the United States has a score of 83 out of 100.

Russia is not free with 16 points. China ranks worst, with 9 points on the index.

This difference does not hinder the countries’ desire to cooperate.

– I think the BRICS want a world order where people can coexist and not just impose an acceptable ideology or order on each other.

Among the applicants for BRICS membership, de Kooning believes that countries such as Egypt, Nigeria and Kenya may be relevant.

These are clear examples from Africa. The BRICS group may be interested in members from the Global South, who have large economies.