Age of Multilateralism: Why is BRICS Important despite Possible Weaknesses? A Perspective from Russia.

This article discusses whether BRICS, a leading global governance mechanism, can revive multilateralism, international law and interstate cooperation while providing stability at the global, regional and bilateral level. BRICS has created opportunities for addressing three core themes: politics and security; economics and finance; and humanitarian cooperation. It has evolved into an entity of like‐mined countries, which connects people through vertical and horizontal ties, delivers impactful projects and builds friendships. BRICS interconnectedness keeps the group intact from issues such as China‐India border conflict that could potentially disrupt BRICS unity. Moreover, the group was not designed to serve as a mediating body and clearly avoids being drawn into internal BRICS conflicts. To reach its full potential, BRICS must continue to expand the scale of cooperation in mutually beneficial issue areas and serve as a platform for cooperative projects for its citizens. The most important fact is that BRICS has been created as a living organism. It requires that absolutely all segments of all the five countries' societies get involved and integrated with each other and that each decision either at the Summit or among the activities during the year contributes to an uninterrupted and efficient functioning of this organism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]