Conclusions: Leadership of the BRICS and Implications for the European Union

Abstract

The BRICS, composed of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, is still an untested unit of analysis. But it is gaining traction. In focusing on the role of these countries in their respective regions and at the global level the notion of their leadership was explored. This is delimited in terms of the expressed desire or willingness to lead, their ability or capacity to lead and the credibility to be a leader or propensity for followership or acceptance. The framework was used to analyze the actions of the BRICS at the global and regional levels in their respective regions and beyond. For each of the BRICS the presentation of the global and regional ramifications on the EU of their leadership in the context of multi-polarity is now discussed with the goal of teasing certain policy insights as envisaged in the framework of the GR:EEN project. The regional powers share features but there are dangers of homogenization or over simplification of commonalities. The new leaders share some traits like the size and magnitude of their economies, the relatively high growth rates hitherto experienced (even if this is plateauing); frustration with the status quo and willingness to act to counter the frustration. Beyond a zeal and spunk for revisionism the countries studied also share four central elements vital for leadership, to wit, economic size and dynamism; development of global value chains; geography (that is, the reconfiguration of regional geography); and role in regional integration. Naturally, leadership is not necessarily always good or benevolent. The themes used to capture leadership of the BRICS are generally defined to amply cover security and economic dimensions.