HIERARCHY OF STATES IN THE FINANCIAL REGIME

THE BRICS AND THE ECONOMIC GLOBAL GOVERNANCE

Abstract

This paper explores the evolution of the relationship between the five BRICS countries and the traditional Bretton Woods institutions: the World Bank and the IMF. In particular, it highlights the reform of the traditional institutions and the recent BRICS ́ initiatives for the creation of a development bank and a contingent fund. In this context, the general objective of the paper is to evaluate the robustness of the coalition in face of recent economic and political constraints, especially the permanence of collective images – a concept formulated by Robert Cox – compatible with the status quo of the current economic regime. Therefore, first we draw a brief history of the BRICS role in the field of economic cooperation and their individual motivations, especially the delay in the implementation of the IMF and World Bank reforms. Then, the analysis addresses the Fortaleza Agreements, which created the BRICS’ New Development Bank (NDB) and the Contingent Reserve Agreement (CRA), emphasizing their relationship with the traditional institutions. Finally, we conclude that the current economic and financial regime, despite not being directly challenged in its fundamental principles, is not stable. Despite the fact the BRICS new arrangements incorporate dominant principles and prerogatives of the traditional institutions, they can create new institutional environments that may enable new developments.