BRICS is an international alliance that currently unites five countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The first summit of the BRIC bloc (South Africa joined the alliance in 2010) took place in 2009.
This group of countries has become an important association in world politics, influencing international relations. The main prerequisites for the creation of BRICS were common interests of the countries, the desire to strengthen economic and political ties between the participants, as well as joint participation in the formation and development of a multipolar world.
The United Nations (UN) is a unique organisation of independent countries united for the sake of universal peace and social progress. The official date of birth of the Organisation is 24 October 1945, when 51 countries became members. In July 2011, the number of countries that joined the UN reached 193.
The UN has four objectives: to maintain peace and security in the world, to develop friendly relations between countries, to co-operate in solving international problems and in ensuring respect for human rights, and to harmonise the actions of different countries. More than 30 related organisations, which together form the UN system, cooperate to achieve these goals.
Andrei Volkov, a political scientist and graduate of the Global Processes Department at Lomonosov Moscow State University, spoke about the differences between the two international platforms in an exclusive piece for TV BRICS.
“Recently, it has become a kind of mainstream to compare the BRICS+ interstate association with other international organisations and associations. However, a full comparison with the UN, the EU and the G7 is not quite correct. The purpose of BRICS is to create a platform where the parties find compromises and act in accordance with them. BRICS is built on the basis of equality of all members,” he said.
The expert added that in recent years in the activities of international organisations one can notice disagreements in the issues of defining the obligations of sovereign states in world politics.
“The development of the BRICS+ meeting format initiated in due time by Russia was a step towards the birth of multipolarity. Thus, BRICS+ is a dynamic phenomenon that advocates free development, dialogue and its own choice. The BRICS+ model can become a benchmark for equitable international interaction, where the parties seek consensus on the basis of creative principles,” emphasised Andrey Volkov.
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