ABSTRACT
BRICS is conceivably the most formidable organisation to have emerged in the post-Cold War period in the non-Western world. It comprises the leading states of the Global South. In a short span of time, it has acquired the status of a formal institution with a capacity to take consensual decisions, execute policies, and manage inherent contradictions and conflicts. The two primary goals of this institution are to promote co-operation among the member states and to give a collective thrust to the long pending demand for the reform of global governance institutions.
The chapter addresses the following key questions: How did BRICS come into being? Is there an economic rationale for its desire to play a decisive role in global governance? What are the distinctive norms and principles espoused by BRICS? What are the motives of its member states? And finally, what are the internal disputes within BRICS?
We have answered these questions by tracing the roots of this organisation, discussing the economic growth of BRICS states, analysing the motives of the member states, identifying shared norms and ideas that members espouse, and examining critically the opinions of policy makers and scholars.
