BRICS Nations May Not Have The 'Stomach' For Stronger Action On War In Gaza
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES
Calls for an end to Israel's war on Gaza mounted as the BRICS group virtually met Tuesday for a meeting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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"I suppose it's a first step that a Global South group like the BRICS got together to talk about this issue, especially since the group was initially set up to consider global economic matters, not conflict," Guy Burton, a visiting fellow at the LSE Middle East Centre, told International Business Times.
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"This summit and these statements expose the limits of the Global South through groupings like the BRICS and its member countries. Ultimately, their words won't have much of a direct impact on the fighting," Burton said. "Yes, they challenge the Western/American stance and injects a degree of moral repugnance into the proceedings, but in themselves they won't change what's happening on the ground."
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In order to have a direct impact on fighting, Burton said the Global South must be "prepared to act."
"In this instance it probably means using whatever leverage they have to put pressure on Israel to call off its military campaign. Some of them could potentially do it. China has important investments in the country, which it could pull out of, cut trade, etc. Russia, which turned a blind eye to Israeli attacks against Hezbollah and other targets in Syria, could take a more assertive stance," Burton said.
"Other countries could sign up to the South African charge of Israeli war crimes to the ICJ (International Criminal Court)," he added. "But for that to happen entails real costs, in the form of lost revenue, damaged diplomatic relations. And I don't think there's the stomach for this."
Since its inception, the BRICS has been pushing for a multipolar world, and the recent inclusion of six new countries also signals an expansion in its symbolic power. But even though a multipolar world is taking shape, it is still not an "even" multipolar world, Burton said.
"The unilateralism of the past is giving way to a more multipolar world, even if the U.S. still remains the dominant global power within it (China in second place is still some way behind, economically, militarily and diplomatically). So it's not an 'even' multipolar world. This, coupled with more assertive states in the Global South (the formation of the BRICS being just one example) means that criticism is more likely," Burton said.
"Because the world isn't completely multipolar and the US remains the principal power, there's only so much that states in the South can do," he added.
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"Many in the Global South see a lot of double standards on the part of the West, especially the U.S., when it comes to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. They see Western officials talk about the importance of democracy and human rights but seem to leave that to one side when it comes to Israel's military campaigns against the Palestinians," Burton said.
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"When Russia invaded [Ukraine], the West moved very quickly to condemn Moscow and Western countries looked to their partners in the Global South to back them on this. So the hypocrisy with how they reacted then compared to now is quite stark," Burton said.
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