A bigger G20 and BRICS by BRICS, the reform of international governance led by the countries of the South

The G20, which was established in response to the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s and was later elevated to a leaders' summit after the 2008 global financial crisis, has evolved from a discussion venue to a steering committee politics and economics of the world. More recently, however, the G20 has become the main forum for making the voice of the South heard.

Brazil will host the next leaders' summit on November 18-19, having taken over from India in 2023, and will then hand over to South Africa. This will be the fourth consecutive year, starting with Indonesia in 2022, that the G20 presidency will be held by a country from the South. During these four years, the Southern agenda has been brought to the forefront of global governance.

South Africa will be the first African country to lead an influential global forum. For a long time, South Africa represented the only voice of the entire African continent. It was only last year that the African Union was inducted into the G20, as a permanent member of the group, under the advocacy of the Indian presidency, making the forum more inclusive and expanding its membership to traditionally excluded countries. of world politics.

It's not just about the G20. The growing buzz around BRICS, which held its summit in Kazan last week, is proof that emerging economies are demanding an alternative to Western-centric models of global governance.

BRICS has undergone its own expansion, with five new members added last year to the original group of five, and more than 30 countries on the waiting list to join. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made sure to emphasize in Kazan, that BRICS should be seen as an organization that wants to reform global institutions, not replace them, with caution differentiate the position of countries like India and Brazil from that of China and Russia.

Although the term “Global South” has been used for over half a century, invented In the revolutionary decade of the 1960s, by the left-wing American writer Carl Oglesby to describe countries subject to domination by the North, it has become established in recent years. Multiple intersecting global crises, starting with the pandemic, conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, and the climate challenge, have all led to growing economic fragility and a fragmented world order.

There are some who question the idea of ​​the Global South as a catch-all phrase for the developing world, given differences in economies, diversity of government systems and cultural identities, not to mention the jostling between China and India, which claim his leadership. Despite these contradictions, the importance of the Global South as a vital and united voice demanding reform of global governance systems cannot be overlooked.

Like its predecessor as host India, Brazil has lent its support to the Southern agenda by demanding greater participation of emerging countries in global decision-making.

The South's agenda is as varied as that of all its members and difficult to summarize given the diversity of interests of developing countries. It is by adapting to the broad priorities of the countries of the South that the G20 has played a key role.

During Indonesia's G20 presidency, the war in Ukraine had begun to affect global food security, an issue Indonesia placed as a priority while advocating for resilient global health systems in the wake of the pandemic.

India, for its part, has embarked on inclusive digital infrastructure, an area in which it has seen success through homegrown solutions and which it has offered to share with other developing countries, alongside reform of multilateral development banks and international institutions to increase climate finance. and other global development challenges. More than anything, India's G20 presidency became a launching pad for its aspirations as a global leader, and it was able to use this platform to amplify its interests and represent the concerns of the Global South.

Brazil's presidency of the G20 has been low-key compared to the pomp and show of India's presidency. But like its predecessor, Brazil put all its weight behind the South's agenda by demanding greater participation of emerging countries in the global decision-making process constitutes one of its three priorities, alongside the fight against hunger and inequalities, as well as a fair energy transition and sustainable development.

Despite the African Union's late inclusion, many developing countries remain conspicuously absent from the G20, which could explain the rest of the world's growing interest in joining BRICS. One thing is clear: the South can no longer be ignored.