Sponsorship Behavior of the BRICS Grouping in the United Nations General Assembly

As the BRICS, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, continue to underscore the shift in international economic power, the grouping is collectively flexing its muscles at international forums. How have these four countries, spread across continents and confronting internal differences, been cooperating at the United Nations where numerous informal groupings have long been active?
In an article published in the journal Third World Quarterly, FREDERIEKE DIJKHUIZEN and MICHAL ONDERCO examine the patterns of co-sponsorship of the BRICS of resolutions adopted in the UN General Assembly (GA) plenary sessions. They find that the BRICS cooperate on fields such as economic issues, however, they do not form a coherent bloc when it comes to resolution sponsorship.
“Using the tool of social network analysis, hitherto unused in the study of the role of the BRICS on the global scene, we demonstrate that BRICS role in the UN GA remains very limited,” the authors state in their article titled ‘Sponsorship behavior of the BRICS in the United Nations General Assembly’.
“The BRICS fail to form one coherent bloc, which is for example illustrated by the fact that in all of the years analyzed in this study, the BRICS never sponsored a single resolution as a grouping (as the EU or Scandinavian countries usually do),” DIJKHUIZEN and ONDERCO write.
Additionally, in all of the themes evaluated, the BRICS are part of different communities in the UN GA, which proves that their co-sponsorship behavior is not strongly aligned, and they continue to co-sponsor resolutions with different countries as partners, the authors state. “There is evidence of ongoing cooperation, the statements from the summits, and undeniable attempts to cooperate more, yet barely any of this is reflected at the UN GA.”
In line with existing literature, the authors find no signs that the BRICS would use the UN GA as a platform for revolutionary change in international order. “[T]he BRICS do not seem to challenge the current world order within international institutions and international governmental organizations, at least not through the UN GA as its main deliberative body.”
Institutionalization of BRICS did not lead to heightened cooperation at the UN GA, the authors state, adding: “While there is a certain regrouping in terms of which communities BRICS belong to, they never become members of the same community.”