Multipolar or Multilateral? Diffusion of Power, the BRICS, and the United States
27 Pages Posted: 22 Aug 2013 Last revised: 23 Aug 2013
Date Written: August 22, 2013
Abstract
Multipolar or Multilateral? Diffusion of Power, the BRICS, and the United States
In an increasingly globalized world, power has become more diffused. Brazil Russia, India China, and South Africa (the BRICS) and many others have emerged as significant actors. The appearance of these and other rising powers is not entirely new, but together they represent an increasing presence in economic, cultural, political and even security terms. At the same time, the relative weight of Europe and Japan has seemed to ebb as these traditional centers of power have experienced economic and demographic stagnation. Political and scholarly observers have tended to greet these changes by heralding a new era in which the BRICS would not only become far more influential in world affairs, but would act to reshape, sustain and promote international institutions and regimes in an increasingly multipolar world. But are these assumptions accurate? Are the BRICS increasingly acting as stakeholders, or is the international order becoming more multipolar without becoming more multilateral? In practice, across a wide range of issue areas the BRICS have often been less rather than more cooperative in sustaining international institutions and international order.
In these circumstances, the role of the United States requires particular attention. I have previously argued that the international engagement of the United States was not only essential for reasons of national interest, but that it was vital for sustaining global order. More recently, I addressed the puzzle of whether the U.S. still possesses the capacity to play that critical role. My tentative answer was that the material underpinnings for such a role remain viable and even robust, but that the determinants are as much ideational, in terms of policy, leadership, and political will, as they are material. With these considerations in mind, I now seek to address the interplay between the role of the United States and that of the BRICS. The question of decline is of critical importance, not only in terms of national interest, but also because the United States has played a unique role as the world’s principal provider of public goods. This role has included creating and sustaining international institutions, supporting regional stability, security and nonproliferation, underpinning the global economy, and encouraging human rights and democratization. Consequently, a combination of American retrenchment and BRIC abdication would be likely to see a weakening not only of multilateral institutions but of these elements of international order.
Keywords: Globalization, BRICS, primacy, diffusion of power, free-riding
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