The Future Of BRICS

From its very inception, the BRICS Think Tank Council (BTTC) has encouraged and supported many academic publications on topics of critical importance to the BRICS. Since the BRICS chair alternates every year, the BTTC member of the host country takes on the responsibility of initiating new publications in collaboration with the other members. In the past years, we have seen some valuable academic research work being done by the members on behalf of the BTTC.

In 2021, with India as the BRICS chair, the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), the Indian BTTC member, is honoured to bring out this compendium of essays titled ‘The Future of BRICS’. We wholeheartedly thank the other BTTC partners for their support and cooperation in realising this objective. We are also grateful to the 25 scholars for their valuable time and effort in producing the essays.

The BRICS agenda covers both intra-BRICS cooperation on a variety of common problems as well as global governance issues. Of these, the following four areas of great contemporary relevance to BRICS were selected for in-depth analysis:

• Multilateralism with the focus on reformed multilateralism. The theme includes reforms of multilateral institutions, questions of global governance and ways of making it more efficient and representative.

• International Security exploring both traditional and non-traditional threats to peace and security. Naturally, terrorism forms a major part of the debate. There are other related issues like the illegal flow of capital, money laundering and violent extremism.

• Digitalisation focusing on a global framework for digital public goods, digital governance and digitalisation for sustainable development. The other aspect is the way to use digitalisation to encourage inclusivity in the growth and development process.

• Climate Change and SDGs to address how the problem of climate change is impacting the realisation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The specific issues discussed include the need for greater climate financing, capacity building and favorable ecosystems for innovation.

Scholars from each of the five BRICS countries have contributed essays on each of these themes. The different perspectives and nuances that the scholars bring to bear make this compendium a valuable academic work and also acts as an input for policymakers in the five countries in identifying new strategies.

We hope that this compendium will be a valuable addition to the growing body of research and knowledge on BRICS and will encourage further debates and discussions on these themes.