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Thanks to the power shift in the international system and the deepening cooperation of the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) in the past six years, the role of this group in global affairs continues to gain momentum. The BRICS group is not only an economic concept but increasingly it is also taking the form of a political entity. However, with the slowing economic growth in BRICS countries and changing geopolitical dynamics around the world, the role of the BRICS on global governance is facing greater challenges than before.

On July 8–9, Russian President Vladimir Putin will host the heads of Brazil, India, China, and South Africa at the seventh BRICS summit, in Ufa. Russia’s presidency of the BRICS, which began in May 2015, aims to pursue the following five priorities: strengthen international peace and security, facilitate multilateral financial cooperation and reform the international financial system, enhance trade and economic cooperation, expand social cooperation of the BRICS countries, deepen humanitarian interaction.

Multiple challenges are causing instability and uncertainty around the world. Whether conflict, cyber security, artificial intelligence, climate change, migration, protectionism, financial instability, or terrorism, the challenges are more than any one country can tackle alone. The sensible thing for the world would be to act in concert to meet those challenges. However, countries are finding it difficult to connect with each other and agree on solutions. 

With each passing year, the number of international summits seems to expand. During 2019, globetrotting leaders will need to choose among a daunting array of meetings vying for their attention. Some of the most important will deal not with traditional security challenges or macroeconomic coordination, but with what is arguably the greatest dilemma facing humanity in the twenty-first century—namely, how to advance economic prosperity and social welfare without destroying the planet and prospects of future generations in the process.

Summit diplomacy was a prominent casualty of COVID-19 during 2020. The pandemic forced the postponement of many high-level gatherings and the shift of others, like the annual opening of the UN General Assembly, to online platforms. Multilateralism-by-Zoom will continue into 2021, as the world rolls out novel coronavirus vaccines. Still, the coming year will be a critical one for international cooperation, even if the calendar remains fluid.

As the world’s premier forum for global economic governance, the Group of Twenty (G20) achieved widely acclaimed progress in containing the 2008 global financial crisis. However, as the G20 shifts its focus from crisis response to long-term economic governance, it also faces multifaceted challenges, and doubts over its effectiveness have grown. With all eyes on the G20 summit in Hangzhou this September, addressing these challenges and tapping into the G20’s potential has been high on China’s agenda.

Mounting Challenges for G20

This year saw many challenging developments: global temperatures shattering records, conflicts raging around the world, growing food insecurity, and the proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. In 2024, global summits will continue to play a crucial role in bringing world leaders together to drive commitments and coordinate responses to these and other pressing issues.  

After a tumultuous 2016, the world holds its breath for what the coming year may bring. Angry populism is on the march. Great power relations are tense. The Middle East has imploded. Meanwhile, President-Elect Donald J. Trump proposes to upend U.S. foreign policy in areas from trade to climate, alliances to nonproliferation, terrorism to human rights. In a world in disarray, can multilateralism deliver?

Twenty-five years after the end of the Cold War, the threat of nuclear weapons use is again moving up the political agenda.

As the second decade of this century comes to a close, effective multilateral cooperation seems to be on the ropes. The Donald J. Trump administration has abandoned U.S. global leadership, brazen geopolitics have returned with a vengeance, and populist leaders have exploited public dissatisfaction with globalization to chip away at European and broader global integration.