The internal and external institutionalization of the BRICS countries: The case of the New Development Bank

Abstract

This article explores and explains the internal and external institutionalization of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) countries via a case study of the New Development Bank. It contributes to the existing literature on the BRICS and the New Development Bank by identifying internal and external factors of institutionalization and by presenting the most recent developments in the field. The internal and external channels of cooperation complement the traditional one based on hosting annual joint BRICS summits. In 2014, these five countries institutionalized their cooperation with an agreement to establish this Bank. The recently established various New Development Bank regional offices play an essential role in its internal and external institutionalization. The New Development Bank is still very much in development. Nonetheless, the internal and external institutionalization approaches provide useful conceptual lenses to understand BRICS cooperation via the New Development Bank better.

The BRICS Countries’ Bilateral Economic Relations, 2009 to 2019: Between Rhetoric and Reality

“…Due to the use of policy documents and statistical data, the approach of this article is mixed. Internal BRICS institutionalization encompasses strengthening the BRICS cooperation and expanding the BRICS agenda (see Hooijmaaijers, 2021c). Over the past decade, the BRICS countries made various references to BRICS economic cooperation.…”

“…The BRICS have in common that they all consider the post-World War II world order, with, for instance, a dominant role for the US and Europe in the Bretton Woods institutions, as unjust (see also Lukin, 2019b;Thakur, 2014). Much of the BRICS debate has focused on whether the BRICS club is an innovative force in global governance and whether the parties are rule changers or makers (Hooijmaaijers, 2021c). Several features make that the NDB embodies something new (Hooijmaaijers, 2021a).…”

“…One (potential) advantage of the BRICS format is that due to these developments, parties are meeting that before were not meeting, which is a sign of the institutionalization of the BRICS cooperation (see Hooijmaaijers, 2021c;Hooijmaaijers & Keukeleire, 2020). The broadening range of issues that were covered, the increasing BRICS declarations, and the institutionalization of the BRICS cooperation with the foundation of the NDB and the Contingent Reserves Arrangement (CRA) reflect this rise (see Duggan, 2015;Helleiner & Wang, 2018;Vazquez et al, 2017;Wang, 2017).…”

“…China's role in the global economy is ever increasing in prominence (Zeng, 2019). This is reflected in various China-sponsored and cosponsored initiatives, including the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), New Development Bank (NDB), and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) (see Hooijmaaijers, 2021aHooijmaaijers, , 2021bHooijmaaijers, , 2021cHooijmaaijers & Keukeleire, 2020).…”

“…It "put to rest much of the concern around the future of the grouping" because it institutionalized the engagement between the five parties (Viswanathan & Soni, 2017, p. 17; see also Cooper & Farooq, 2016). It is the first multilateral development bank (MDB) created by emerging markets and developing countries (EMDCs) (Hooijmaaijers, 2021c).…”