Global Governance in Crisis? The “Emerging Powers” and their Influence on the Current International Framework

This article has two aims: 1) debate about the meaning of global governance (GG) by describing its strengths and its weakness in the light of some theoretical studies; 2) explore the possibility that emerging powers such as the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) can play a decisive role towards suitable reforms in global governance. This question arises from the finding that the BRICS have already tried to be “alternatives” to the western-model of GG, by creating “parallel institutions” such as the New Development Bank (NDB) but also because of their increasing presence in the Global South. To answer to these issues, we first debate the meaning of the term “global governance”, then analyze the process of financial institutionalization of the BRICS (through the creation of the NDB and other financial initiatives such as the Contingency Reserve Arrangement) and finally the measures taken to increase their weight in the Global South, as well as their weight on GG.

Keyword: Global Governance, BRICS, New Development Bank, Global South.