Read this piece from AJ and thought it had some really good nuggets. It touches on a lot of important themes, although in a shallow way.
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Crucially, Naidu argued, the expansion list is “very energy centric”, adding that following the announcement, some analysts at the venue even facetiously commented if they should “call it BRICS plus OPEC?”.
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Analysts have said that one of the countries that could benefit from a trading regime outside of dollar dominance is Iran.
“Iran will clearly benefit the most,” said Na’eem Jeenah, a senior researcher at the South African think tank, Mapungupwe Institute for Strategic Reflection.
He said its inclusion “highlights the fact that it’s not as politically isolated as the US wants it to be”.
Inclusion could also be an “economic lifeline” due to increased bilateral trade.
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“The grouping now represents a larger share of the world’s population and economy. However, this only means that the group is potentially a powerful voice for reform of the arrangements for global governance and a powerful actor in these arrangements,” Bradlow said.
“Whether it actually becomes such a voice will depend on whether the expanded group is more effective than the BRICS have been in forging agreements on how the arrangements for global governance should be reformed and how they can more effectively serve the interests of the whole Global South.”
Naidu noted that “having Iran in the BRICS sends a massive powerful message to the G7, to the Global North, to Washington”.
“It says, ‘You can have a problem with them, we’ll keep them here.’ And it also says, ‘Your problems are not our problems.’”
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“More scary [for the West] than the six who were chosen is that 40 expressed interest in joining,” he said. “BRICS is engaging in incremental expansion … So where does it go in 30 years time?
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/24/analysis-wall-of-brics-the-significance-of-adding-six-new-members