Africa and Asia in BRICS: What Do South Africa, India, and Indonesia’s Approaches to the Grouping Tell Us About Solidarity/difference in the Global South?

Paper Abstract: The BRICS grouping has embraced a major expansion, with four new states added as full members at Johannesburg in 2023 and 13 new “partner” countries included at Kazan in 2024. BRICS has been spoken of as a “new Bandung.”

In fact, BRICS is something considerably less idealistic than the famous 1955 initiative. Nevertheless, it may have a better chance of success precisely due to the tacit learning in the Global South since Bandung as well as the more realist strategies of its key members. The roles of South Africa, India, and Indonesia are instructive in this process – India is a founder member, South Africa joined very soon thereafter, Indonesia a late applicant and now added at a lower level of association.

The three states have much in common in their approach toward BRICS. All three states are non-western but by no means anti-western. They are dissatisfied with the current global order and seek major and meaningful reform.

However, there are also differences. South Africa emphasizes equity, democracy, human rights, India emphasizes reform of international institutions and climate justice and opposition to terrorism. Indonesia, with its bid to join OECD, has until recently been more hesitant with an internal debate on the costs of benefits of joining.

The paper will lay out these convergences and differences on BRICS between these three states through an analysis of statements and positions taken by these governments. The analysis will also help provide insights on the potential paths of evolution of the grouping.