Can BRICS Overcome Members' Political and Economic Differences?

Analysts are raising the alarm over the inclusion of many of the newly inducted members into the BRICS bloc, fearing their lack of tolerance for civic engagement poses threats to multilateralism. ... Neil Melvin, director of International Security Studies at London-based Royal United Security Institute, or RUSI, the UK’s oldest defence and security think tank, told VOA that the selection of these six nations attest to the vested interests being championed by BRICS. "Argentina is there because of its neighbour Brazil. Russia and China also want to bring in Iran. And Egypt is there primarily because of the centrality of the hydrocarbon sector to many of the BRICS countries. And, for South Africa, it’s likely it wanted Ethiopia because of its central area for African diplomacy," he said. "We do see a group of countries that certainly have a democracy problem, and this is strengthening non-democratic trends in the BRICS, and a human rights problem." This, Melvin added, may have an impact on the ability of the selected states to operation in a multilateral context.