The G20 and BRICS: Engaging with international institutions for global governance

ABSTRACT

The emergence of the G20 and BRICS in response to vulnerabilities and changes in the world economy in the new millennium has generated a range of expectations, reflections and criticisms. The G20, in the wake of the global financial crisis of 2008, sought to manage the crisis, reform the international architecture and devise a new global consensus. The BRICS formation pledged to foster cooperation and coordination between members and to promote international institutional reform. This study explores the modes of engagement of the G20 and BRICS in their dealings with international institutions, testing the assumptions that they can resort to a combination of approaches and that their preferred approach reflects their mission and role in the system of international institutions (IIs). The intensity of engagement by the G20 and BRICS with various IIs in fulfilling their global governance functions confirms their commitment to multilateralism.

KEYWORDS:

• G20
• BRICS
• global governance
• international institutions
• engagement modes

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Marina Larionova is Head of the Center for International Institutions Research (CIIR) of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA) (https://www.ranepa.ru/eng/ciir-ranepa). She is an author of more than a hundred articles, co-author and editor of several books on the global governance, G7/G8 and G20 system, BRICS and other international institutions. Dr Larionova is the Editor-in-Chief of the International Organisations Research Journal (IORJ) (http://iorj.hse.ru/en/about). She holds a doctorate in political science and a doctorate in philology.

Andrey Shelepov is Senior Researcher of the Center for International Institutions Research (CIIR) of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA). He is an author and co-author of several books and papers on the G7/G8, G20 and BRICS, and their engagement with other international institutions, as well as on multilateral development banks. He holds a PhD in economics.

ORCID

Andrey Shelepov http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0417-3780

Notes

1 G20 Leaders, ‘Declaration of the summit on financial markets and the world economy’, Washington DC, 15 November 2008, <http://www.ranepa.ru/images/media/g20/2008washington/Declaration%20of%20the%20Summit%20on%20Financial%20Markets.pdf>.

2 G20 Leaders, ‘Global plan for recovery and reform: Statement issued by the G20 Leaders’, 2 April 2009, <http://www.ranepa.ru/images/media/g20/2009london/2009communique0402.pdf>.

3 Kirton JJ, G20 Governance for a Globalized World. Farnham: Ashgate, 2013, pp. 46–7.

4 The BRICS grouping initially included Brazil, Russia, India and China. In 2011, South Africa formally joined the forum.

5 BRIC Leaders, ‘Joint statement’, 16 June 2009, <http://www.ranepa.ru/images/media/brics/ruspresidency1/First%20Summit.pdf>.

6 BRIC Leaders, ‘Joint Statement’, 16 June 2009, <https://www.ranepa.ru/images/media/brics/ruspresidency1/First%20Summit.pdf>.

7 People’s Republic of China, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ‘Full text of Chinese president’s speech at plenary session of BRICS Johannesburg Summit’, 26 July 2018, <http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/zxxx_662805/t1580849.shtml>.

8 Informal summit institutions are defined as international institutions with limited membership, relatively low bureaucracy and reliance on open, flexible and voluntary approaches. Regular meetings of the heads of states and governments who engage on a wide range of international, regional and domestic politics stand at the pinnacle of such international arrangements, which involve many actors operating according to established procedures on two levels: domestic and international. Commitments contained in the collectively agreed documents are not legally binding but their implementation is stimulated by peer pressure.

9 Kirton JJ, G20 Governance for a Globalized World. Farnham: Ashgate, 2013, pp. 37–9.

10 Putnam R & N Bayne, Hanging Together. Cooperation and Conflict in the Seven-Power Summits. London: Sage Publications, 1987, pp. 155–7.

11 BRICS Leaders, ‘Sanya Declaration’, 14 April 2011, <https://www.ranepa.ru/images/media/brics/chpresidency1/Sanya%20Declaration.pdf>.

12 G20 Leaders, ‘G20 Leaders Statement: The Pittsburgh Summit’, 24–25 September 2009, <https://www.ranepa.ru/images/media/g20/2009pittsburgh/G20%20Leaders%20Statement.pdf>.

13 Financial Stability Board <https://www.fsb.org>.

14 New Development Bank <https://www.ndb.int>.

15 Putnam R & N Bayne, Hanging Together. Cooperation and Conflict in the Seven-Power Summits. London: Sage Publications, 1987.

16 Hajnal P, The G20. Evolution, Interrelationships, Documentation. Farnham: Ashgate, 2014; Kirton JJ, M. Larionova & P Savona (eds.), Making Global Governance Effective: Hard and Soft Law Institutions in a Crowded World. Farnham: Ashgate, 2010.

17 Larionova M, ‘G20: Engaging with International Organizations to Generate Growth’, International Organisations Research Journal (IORJ), 12, 2, 2017, pp. 54–86, <https://iorj.hse.ru/en/2017-12-2/207898787.html>

18 Shelepov A, ‘BRICS and International Institutions: Models of Engagement in Global Governance’, International Organisations Research Journal (IORJ), 10, 4, 2015, pp. 7–28, <https://iorj.hse.ru/en/2015-10-4/168629158.html>

19 Larionova M, ‘Assessing Summit Institutions Engagement with Other International Organizations in the Process of Global Governance’, International Organisations Research Journal (IORJ), 11, 1, 2016, pp. 126–152, <https://iorj.hse.ru/data/2016/10/17/1108930895/M.%20Larionova.pdf>

20 The total number of documents used in the study from Washington to Hamburg is 195.

21 The total number of documents used in the study from Ekaterinburg to Xiamen is 104. The South African BRICS Presidency documents were included in the qualitative analysis, but not in the quantitative analysis to ensure that similar periods are compared.

22 This is expressed as follows: D1 = M1/S1. In this formula, D1 is the intensity of references to an international institution for a given year (period), M1 is the number of references made to this institution during the given year (period), and S1 is the total number of characters in the documents for the given year (period). To make the findings more easily understood, D1 is multiplied by 10,000.

23 ‘International institution’ is used in the article as an overarching term for international organisations, regimes, and clubs that differ in their degree of institutionalisation. The engagement groups (such as Business20, Civil20, Labour20, Youth20, Think20, Women20, BRICS Business Summit, BRICS Business Forum, BRICS Youth Forum, BRICS academic Forum, Civil BRICS Forum.) were included into the count as they are consistently referred to by both G20 and BRICS.

24 BRIC Leaders, ‘Second summit: Joint statement’, 16 April 2009, <https://www.ranepa.ru/images/media/brics/brazpresidency1/Second%20Summit%202010.pdf>.

25 ‘Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative’, <http://www.ranepa.ru/images/media/g20/2017hamburg/2017-g20-womens-entrepreneurship-facility-en.pdf>.

26 BRIC Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, ‘Communiqué’, London, 4 September 2009, <http://www.ranepa.ru/images/media/brics/ruspresidency1/finance%202009.pdf>.

27 BRIC Finance Ministers, ‘Joint communiqué of the II meeting’, Horsham, United Kingdom, 14 March 2009, <http://www.ranepa.ru/images/media/brics/ruspresidency1/finance%202009%201.pdf>.

28 G20, ‘Seoul summit document’, 12 November 2010, para 16, <https://www.ranepa.ru/images/media/g20/2010%20Korea/g20seoul-doc.pdf>.

29 G20 Finance Ministers & Central Bank Governors, ‘Communiqué’, 21–22 July 2018, <https://www.ranepa.ru/images/media/g20/2018buenosaires/G20_finance_2018_2.pdf>. The annual meetings take place in October.

30 BRICS Finance Ministers, ‘Joint communiqué’, 14 March 2009, <https://www.ranepa.ru/images/media/brics/ruspresidency1/finance%202009%201.pdf>.

31 BRIC Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, ‘Communiqué’, 4 September 2009, <https://www.ranepa.ru/images/media/brics/ruspresidency1/finance%202009.pdf>.

32 G20 Leaders, ‘Communique’, 5 September 2016, <https://www.ranepa.ru/images/media/g20/2016Hangzhou/G20%20Leaders%E2%80%99%20Communique%20Hangzhou%20Summit.pdf>.

33 BRICS Leaders, ‘Delhi Declaration’, 29 March 2012, < https://www.ranepa.ru/images/media/brics/inpresidency1/Fourth%20BRICS%20Summit.pdf>.

34 NDB, ‘Investor Relations’ <https://www.ndb.int/investor-relations/investor-presentations>.

35 BRICS Leaders, ‘Johannesburg declaration’, 25–27 July 2018, para 70, <https://www.ranepa.ru/images/media/brics/sapresidency2/JOHANNESBURG_DECLARATION.pdf>.

36 BRICS Leaders, ‘Ufa Declaration’, 9 July 2015, <https://www.ranepa.ru/images/media/brics/ruspresidency2/Declaration_eng.pdf>.

37 BRICS Leaders, ‘Ufa Declaration’, 9 July 2015, <https://www.ranepa.ru/images/media/brics/ruspresidency2/Declaration_eng.pdf>.

38 BRICS Leaders, ‘Ufa Declaration’, 9 July 2015, <https://www.ranepa.ru/images/media/brics/ruspresidency2/Declaration_eng.pdf>.

39 FSB (Financial Stability Board), ‘Overview of progress in the implementation of the G20 recommendations for strengthening financial stability’, 5 September 2013, p. 8, <http://www.fsb.org/wp-content/uploads/r_130905c.pdf?page_moved=1>

40 OECD, ‘Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting’, 2013, < https://www.ranepa.ru/images/media/g20/2013spbsummit/BEPSActionPlan.pdf>.

41 G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, ‘Communiqué’, 17–18 March 2017, <http://www.ranepa.ru/images/media/g20/2017hamburg/170318-finance-en.pdf>.

42 BRIC Leaders, ‘Joint statement’, 16 June 2009, <https://www.ranepa.ru/images/media/brics/ruspresidency1/First%20Summit.pdf>.

43 G20 Leaders, Declaration of the summit on financial markets and the world economy’, 15 November 2008, p. 3, <https://www.ranepa.ru/images/media/g20/2008washington/Declaration%20of%20the%20Summit%20on%20Financial%20Markets.pdf>.

44 WTO (World Health Organization) Report on G20 Trade Measures, 10 November 2016, <https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news16_e/g20_wto_report_november16_e.pdf>.

45 G20 Leaders (2017) ‘Declaration’, 7–8 July 2017, p. 12, <http://www.ranepa.ru/images/media/g20/2017hamburg/G20%20Hamburg%20leaders_%20communiqu%C3%A9.pdf>

46 BRICS Leaders, ‘Johannesburg declaration’, 25–27 July 2018, <https://www.ranepa.ru/images/media/brics/sapresidency2/JOHANNESBURG_DECLARATION.pdf>.

47 G20 Leaders, ‘Global plan for recovery and reform: Statement issued by the G20 Leaders’, 2 April 2009, para 26, <http://www.ranepa.ru/images/media/g20/2009london/2009communique0402.pdf>.

48 WHO (World Health Organization), ‘Global action plan on anti-microbial resistance (AMR)’, 2015, <http://www.who.int/antimicrobial-resistance/global-action-plan/en/>.

49 WHO (World Health Organization), ‘International health regulations’, 2005, <http://www.who.int/ihr/publications/9789241580496/en/>.

50 WHA71(8), which calls for the elaboration of a comprehensive roadmap report on access to medicines and vaccines, and WHA71(9), which calls for implementation of the Global Strategy and Plan of Action on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property.

51 BRICS Health Ministers, ‘Beijing declaration’, 11 July 2011, <https://www.ranepa.ru/images/media/brics/chpresidency1/BRICS%20Health%20Ministers.pdf>.

52 G20 Leaders, ‘Communique’, 5 September 2016, <https://www.ranepa.ru/images/media/g20/2016Hangzhou/G20%20Leaders%E2%80%99%20Communique%20Hangzhou%20Summit.pdf>.

53 G20 Leaders, ‘Hamburg declaration’, 7–8 July 2017, p. 7, <http://www.ranepa.ru/images/media/g20/2017hamburg/G20%20Hamburg%20leaders_%20communiqu%C3%A9.pdf>.

54 Though the FSB establishment as the successor to the Financial Stability Forum (FSF) was catalysed by the G20, it is not the G20's own institution, for at least three reasons. First, its membership includes the members of the predecessor institution. Second, the membership goes well beyond the G20, including non G20 member jurisdictions, international financial institutions, and international standard-setting and other bodies. Third, though the FSF was founded in 1999 by the G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, it was never considered as a G7 institution.

55 BRICS Leaders, ‘Xiamen declaration’, 4 September 2017, <https://www.ranepa.ru/images/media/brics/2017/mEsqRkedzqYLDwxo6AbZnCkmAo9Xta3d.pdf>.

56 BRICS Leaders, ‘Johannesburg declaration’, 25–27 July 2018, p. 2, <https://www.ranepa.ru/images/media/brics/sapresidency2/JOHANNESBURG_DECLARATION.pdf>.

57 Skak M, ‘The BRIC powers as soft balancers: Brazil, Russia, India and China’, paper presented at The Dragon and the Bear: Strategic Choices of Russia and China, 11th Annual Aleksanteri Conference, Helsinki, 9–11 November 2011, p. 17, <http://www.brics.utoronto.ca/biblio/Skak_2011.pdf>.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration [Grant Number 12.8].