Daily Times

Alliances, Groupings, and Blocs are part of international relations, norms, and practices. These groupings are usually formed between like-minded countries with minimum common interests. Generally, these groups are formed to forge political, economic, ideological, and strategic interests, besides socio-cultural, technological cooperation, arms control, etc.

While regional alliances are a common phenomenon, extra-regional and cross-global groupings are also becoming popular due to their specific purpose, like QUAD, and AUKUS. A comprehensive look at each of these alliances and groupings may not be possible due to the paucity of space, however, each of these deserves a mention, at least.

African Union (AU) with 55 member states is the largest regional alliance, which covers an entire continent, whereas, the Arab League with its 22 members covers North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. The 52-member Commonwealth of Nations is an association of former colonies of the British Empire because the Raj was unwilling to cede its hegemony even after exiting the countries. Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Malaysia, are some of the prominent names on the list.

The European Union (EU) is comprised of 27 European countries, and perhaps is the most effective and influential group mentioned so far. The Group of 8 (G8), or G7 as it stands after Russia’s expulsion, was formed by the rich nations of the northern hemisphere to control the geoeconomics, and largely remained unchallenged by any other such groupings.

BRICS, after its expansion and prospects, is the first serious challenge to G7.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is a small regional alliance with six nations located in West Asia or the Arabian Peninsula. GCC is rich in hydrocarbons, and some of its states, like Qatar and Kuwait have the highest per capita income in the world.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) presently have 31 members and can include more European nations. It was founded soon after World War, for the specific purpose of defending Western Europe from Warsaw Pact countries led by the erstwhile Soviet Union. NATO remains the most formidable military alliance that has participated in several military adventures, mostly against Unequal Military Powers (UMPs), like Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya, and successfully destroyed them.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is comprised of all 56 countries that have Islam as their majority religion. These countries are located in different regions, but mainly in Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and South East Asia.

The United Nations (UN) is the largest group of countries with some 193 countries across the globe, which gives hope of peace, and human rights to relatively weaker states. While its efforts are laudable, it often surrenders in front of global leaders in its endeavours. Likewise, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) also has universal membership for all states, and perhaps does the most noble job of all its contemporaries. Its core objectives include the promotion of “peace and security through international cooperation in education, science, culture and communication. Its main goal is to contribute to building a culture of peace, eradicating poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through its programs and activities.”

The World Trade Organization (WTO) was formed with a specific purpose to oversee trade matters among its member countries. Nearly all countries are represented in the WTO. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), is an intergovernmental international organization established on June 15, 2001. “The SCO adheres to the “Shanghai spirit”, namely, mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diversity of civilizations and pursuit of common development; and externally, it upholds non-alignment, non-targeting at other countries or regions and the principle of openness.” Interestingly, one can notice these spirits in BRICS as well, because China-led organizations do have these attributes as their core values.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a regional organization with 10 member states with a specific agenda of political and economic cooperation. The ASEAN is extremely successful in its core objectives, as opposed to the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), where the member states do not even sit together.

Coming back to BRICS, which is comprised of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, was formed in 2009. The founding members were thought to be emerging economies, and rightly so. It is home to over 45 per cent of the world’s population, with an economy of over 29 per cent of the world’s GDP. In its 15th Summit held in August this year in South Africa, the association has admitted six new members: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Iran, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt, Ethiopia, and Argentina, thus raising its share in world’s population and GDP to newer heights. The core purpose of BRICS is to promote peace, security, development, and growth. It aims to forge a partnership for mutually accelerated growth, sustainable development, and inclusive multilateralism. Its core values include mutual respect, sovereign equality, inclusiveness, consensus, and strengthened collaboration.

In my opinion, BRICS, after its expansion and prospects, is the first serious challenge to G7, which is not only comprised of the richest nations but also protects the interest of the global north. China-Russia-led BRICS is promising an equitable distribution of wealth and development in the Global South through its New Development Bank established in 2015. Perhaps, we are heading for a Sun Tzu versus Machiavelli’s philosophical competition in the coming decades.

The writer of this article has authored three international books: “Nuclear Deterrence and Conflict Management Between India and Pakistan,” “South Asia Needs Hybrid Peace” and “Understanding Sun Tzu and the Art of Hybrid War.”

The writer is the author of the book ‘Nuclear Deterrence and Conflict Management Between India and Pakistan’. He is presently working as the Director of the Centre for Aerospace and Security Studies