The modern geopolitical arena rarely offers spectacles as curious as the summitry of BRICS. To its harshest critics, most notably Donald Trump, the alliance represents an overtly anti-American coalition intent on dismantling Western financial dominance. To its members, it is touted as the premier forum for the Global South, an engine meant to balance a unipolar international order.
Yet, beneath the glossy summit communiqués lies a far more precarious reality. The group is defined less by shared ideological coherence than by a web of deep-seated internal contradictions.
Originally formed as a compact grouping of emerging economies—Brazil, Russia, India, and China, later joined by South Africa,BRICS underwent an ambitious expansion. The addition of nations such as Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and Indonesia turned the bloc into a sprawling patchwork.
Rather than cementing unity, this widening footprint brought historical rivalries, border disputes, and economic competition directly into the alliance. The ultimate test for BRICS is not whether it can challenge the West, but whether a body so internally divided can prevent its own structural collapse.
The Triangle of Distrust
At the heart of the alliance sits a tense strategic triangle comprising India, China, and Russia. Moscow enjoys warm relations with both New Delhi and Beijing, acting as a crucial diplomatic bridge. However, the bilateral dynamic between India and China remains heavily strained.
The two Asian powers share a contested 3,500-kilometre border marked by military standoffs, violent skirmishes, and a persistent deficit of trust. While shifting global pressures occasionally force brief diplomatic thaws, Indian foreign policy remains deeply concerned by Chinese economic and regional dominance.
This strategic competition spills over into broader institutional alignments:
When the two largest economies within a bloc operate as active strategic rivals, institutional paralysis is a constant threat.
Middle Eastern Fault Lines and African Waters
The expansion of BRICS brought additional intra-bloc friction, particularly from the Middle East and Africa:
Why BRICS Has Not Collapsed
Given these deep fissures, why has BRICS not suffered the same fate as other regional bodies?
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), for instance, became virtually defunct after 2015. SAARC stalled primarily because persistent bilateral hostilities between India and Pakistan repeatedly hijacked its broader agenda, while smaller member nations lacked the leverage to steer the organization back on track. In contrast to SAARC's heavily asymmetrical structure dominated by a single feud, BRICS distributes power across multiple regional heavyweights—including Brazil in Latin America, South Africa in Africa, and Russia spanning Eurasia—which prevents any single conflict from breaking the bloc.
BRICS also avoids this trap through institutional insulation. Member states display a clear commitment to keeping bilateral grievances off the official agenda. India and China do not use BRICS summits to air border grievances, nor do Egypt and Ethiopia use the platform to debate Nile water rights. By maintaining a strict barrier between bilateral conflicts and multilateral goals, the bloc protects its operational machinery.
Pragmatism Over Ideology
BRICS survives because its members recognize that economic self-interest outweighs geopolitical friction. The alliance does not require its members to share a military doctrine or a uniform political vision. Instead, it offers a pragmatic framework designed to address common vulnerabilities in the international financial system.
The primary rallying point remains the heavy dependence on the US dollar and Western-dominated transaction networks. The weaponization of financial sanctions has prompted member states to seek viable alternatives. Within BRICS, the focus remains squarely on actionable, shared priorities:
Ultimately, BRICS operates as a marriage of convenience. Its future will not be determined by the total elimination of internal rivalries, which are too deeply entrenched to vanish. Instead, its stability hinges on diplomatic discipline. So long as its member states continue to insulate their private disputes from their shared economic goals, BRICS will remain a potent force in shaping the global order.