The BRICS countries form a platform for discussion that is helping to spread the idea of a multi-polar international system. Looking beyond the aim of promoting economic development among its members, the BRICS group can also be seen as a response to the inability of the Western powers to promote substantial reforms within international organizations, especially the UN and the IMF. The New Development Bank (NDB) was created in 2015 in response to this situation. Nevertheless, the recent proposal from China to expand the BRICS—to form a “BRICS Plus” group—has met with some resistance from India. This article looks into whether the “BRICS Plus” project is contributing to strengthening the reformist trend in the BRICS countries, or whether it will become diluted in the original BRICS narrative.
Keywords
- BRICS
- BRICS Plus
- NDB
- UN reform
- IMF reform