Power Asymmetries in BRICS: Serving the Global South or Entrenching Sino‑Russian Interests?

Since becoming a political bloc in 2009, BRICS has expanded to ten members. This paper interrogates the evolving role of this formation, which aspires to be a powerful voice for the Global South at the international level. This ambition evokes comparisons to the Non-Aligned Movement, which ‘historically represented a collective voice of developing countries striving for independence, sovereignty, and international cooperation’ during the pre-1990 bipolar world. However, the contemporary multipolar landscape presents distinct challenges to its efforts to be a counterweight to Western hegemony. This paper argues that the grouping increasingly entrenches Chinese economic primacy and Russian geopolitical interests, marginalising smaller members and the broader Global South. Empirical evidence from key UN bodies is used to highlight limited BRICS engagement at the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and divergent voting patterns within the UN Security Council (UNSC), underscoring institutional inertia. Financial and diplomatic asymmetries further enable Beijing and Moscow to dominate the bloc’s agenda, weakening its credibility as a vehicle for Global South solidarity. These internal imbalances could also undermine the very concept of multipolarity that BRICS claims to champion. Through a structural realist lens, this paper analyses UN voting records, trade imbalances and case studies, including the Democratic Republic of Congo’s cobalt supply chain, to reveal how disparities in representation, financial contributions and strategic priorities shape BRICS’ trajectory. The paper concludes with policy recommendations.