Emerging powers

There is no single agreed definition of ‘emerging power’, in part because the term has only recently come into common use. However, it is generally agreed that a key characteristic of an emerging power is a growing economy, which gives a state the potential to be an important global actor.

There might be no emerging powers without globalisation. The growing volume of international trade requires the management of trading relations through international organisations, which brings states into closer contact with each other, providing opportunities to exert influence economically and politically.

A number of states are recognised as emerging powers. As well as the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), there are Argentina, Australia, Indonesia, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, Poland, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Turkey. The Group of 20, seen by many as the forum through which these countries can exert influence, is arguably more important than the Group of 7.The BRICS nations first met in 2009 and have held annual summits ever since. Consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, BRICS encompasses some of the largest developing economies in the world - an alternative institutional power base. Their main achievement so far has been the establishment of a New Development Bank - a fund to help developing countries finance infrastructure projects, and a potential future rival to the role of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in the global system.


Although initially thought of purely in terms of the size of their economies, BRICS countries have become an important political force in the global trading system and heavily influenced the World Trade Organization (WTO), and are also known to have significant influence on regional affairs. All are also members of G20. The BRICS Forum, an independent international organisation encouraging commercial, political and cultural cooperation between the BRICS nations, was formed in 2011. Several other countries have expressed interest in joining the BRICS grouping.

The grouping has held annual summits since 2009, with member countries taking turns to host. Prior to South Africa's admission, two BRIC summits were held, in 2009 and 2010. The first five-member BRICS summit was held in 2011. The most recent BRICS summit took place in Brazil from 13 to 14 November 2019.  

2024 The BRICS are expanding.

The announcement of expansion at last year's summit in South Africa marked a major shift in the BRICS strategy. The new countries added were diverse in geography and politics, but they all shared a common trait: strong expected economic growth for the future. The six nations invited were Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and Argentina. However, after the election of a right-wing pro-US president last December, Argentina chose not to join, resulting in an expansion that includes five new members this year. This growth occurs amid rising conversation about transitioning from a unipolar world dominated by the United States to a more multipolar one with a wider distribution of power. The BRICS nations aim to create a more equitable and representative international order through their expansion and seek to reform the multilateral system. The expansion can be seen as a counterbalance to the influential G7 nations, which continue to dominate global decision-making. BRICS emphasizes its role in providing a platform for significant developing nations that are typically excluded from global leadership roles. Each of the new members brings considerable economic potential, either through abundant natural resources or by having young, rapidly growing populations.The BRICS countries aim to provide an alternative to the global economic institutions created by Western nations following World War II. The Bretton Woods system, which has evolved over time, still primarily supports the US-centered structure.

The dollar's role as the world's primary reserve currency provides the United States with significant borrowing advantages and enhances its geopolitical influence, especially in enforcing sanctions and restricting access to the global economy. The BRICS nations have often voiced their ambition to create an alternative reserve currency for the Global South, but little progress has been made. It appears that the group recognizes the need for more allies to successfully achieve such a goal.

There are also less favorable interpretations of this expansion. Some believe BRICS is trying to grow its membership externally because it has struggled to strengthen internal bonds. Since its inception, there has been a clear lack of political and economic integration among BRICS members, leading to the view that expanding the group may create an illusion of progress when, in reality, the organization has been stagnant. The expansion has certainly increased discussions about BRICS more than ever before.

The impact of adding new members on the group's success in a competitive global landscape remains unclear. One challenge is that these new nations are quite different from one another and do not have the same level of political and economic integration as the G7 countries. Rather than solving existing coordination issues, the new additions may complicate them further.

Concerns intensify with the inclusion of countries that have their own significant regional conflicts. For instance, Ethiopia and Egypt have experienced rising tensions, particularly over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which has led to Egypt threatening military action. Since the Nile is essential for Egypt’s water supply, the dam's construction raises serious disputes over control of this critical resource.

Similarly, Saudi Arabia and Iran have been longstanding rivals in the Middle East, involved in various proxy conflicts across different nations, including Syria and Yemen. Despite recent efforts by China to improve ties, deep mistrust remains.

Adding these rival nations is unlikely to promote closer cooperation among members with differing interests. China and India, for example, have a contentious relationship and have faced challenges in agreeing on the BRICS agenda.

Disagreement over the expansion itself has also been reported. It is believed that China and Russia were the primary advocates for this move, while other members were less enthusiastic. Russia's interest in forming alternative alliances is understandable, particularly after facing exclusion from global economic governance due to Western sanctions following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

China's involvement suggests it is increasingly considering its geopolitical strategy in a multilateral context. The BRICS alliance has always been largely influenced by China, which holds most of the bloc's military and economic power. While China has actively pursued its expansion through the extensive Belt and Road initiative, investing heavily in infrastructure across various countries, the group has recently expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, the UAE, and Iran alongside the original five members.

China is recognizing the importance of strengthening its power through strategic partnerships, similar to the approach taken by the United States to maintain its superpower position. The main challenge for BRICS will be establishing a genuine platform that empowers the Global South to contest Western economic influence, without merely becoming subject to Chinese economic control.



Jim O’Neill, the former chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, coined the term ‘BRICS’ as shorthand for the five major emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The BRICS have met annually since 2009, taking turns to host the event in a different location in the same 5-year cycle, starting with Russia and ending with South Africa. The latter first attended in 2010 as a guest, and first hosted as a full member in 2013.

The initial BRIC country grouping was controversial, with some of the countries in the group more developed than others, particularly economically. It was also controversial that the group did not initially include any African countries, especially considering that it was supposed to represent newly emerging global powers, and therefore intended to contest the traditional global power hierarchies. This is one of the main reasons behind South Africa’s admission. Nigeria, another African country with dramatic potential for growth, has since been added to the MINT countries, also a term O’Neill coined. The MINT countries represent a similar but more recent grouping to the BRICS, and comprise Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey.

The rise of the BRICS and MINT countries demonstrates the way in which the landscape of international politics is changing. In recent history, the Global North has dominated economic development. However, the twenty-first century may see economic and with it political influence shifting from West to East. The Group of Twenty (G20), unlike the Group of Seven (G7), represents developing as well as developed nations and is increasing in global influence. In 2015, China established the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), providing a rival centre of economic structural power to the Western-dominated World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). By around 2020, China is expected to have the largest economy in the world.